Psalm 113-118

Common English Bible

⁵ Who could possibly compare to the Lord our God?
    God rules from on high;
⁶     he has to come down to even see heaven and earth!
⁷ God lifts up the poor from the dirt
    and raises up the needy from the garbage pile
⁸         to seat them with leaders—
        with the leaders of his own people!
⁹     God nests the once barren woman at home—
        now a joyful mother with children!

Praise the Lord!

³ The sea saw it happen and ran away;
    the Jordan River retreated!
⁴ The mountains leaped away like rams;
    the hills leaped away like lambs!
⁵ Sea, why did you run away?
    Jordan, why did you retreat?
⁶     Mountains, why did you leap away like rams?
    Hills, why did you leap away like lambs?

⁷ Earth: Tremble before the Lord!
    Tremble before the God of Jacob,
⁸         the one who turned that rock into a pool of water,
        that flint stone into a spring of water!

² Why do the nations say,
    “Where’s their God now?”
³ Our God is in heaven—
    he can do whatever he wants!
⁴ Their idols are just silver and gold—
    things made by human hands.
⁵     They have mouths, but they can’t speak.
    They have eyes, but they can’t see.
⁶     They have ears, but they can’t hear.
    They have noses, but they can’t smell.
⁷     They have hands, but they can’t feel.
    They have feet, but they can’t walk.
    They can’t even make a noise in their throats!
⁸ Let the people who made these idols
    and all who trust in them
    become just like them!

⁹ But you, Israel, trust in the Lord!
    God is their help and shield.
¹⁰ Trust in the Lord, house of Aaron!
    God is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who honor the Lord, trust in the Lord!
    God is their help and shield.
¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
    God will bless the house of Israel;
    God will bless the house of Aaron;
¹³ God will bless those who honor the Lord—
    from the smallest to the greatest.

¹⁴ May the Lord add to your numbers—
    both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth!
¹⁶ The highest heaven belongs to the Lord,
    but he gave the earth to all people.
¹⁷ The dead don’t praise the Lord,
    nor do those who go down to silence.
¹⁸ But us? We will bless the Lord
    from now until forever from now!

Praise the Lord!

⁵ The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
⁶ The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
⁷ I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
⁸ You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
⁹     so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I have remained faithful, even when I said,
    “I am suffering so badly!”
¹¹     even when I said, out of fear,
    “Everyone is a liar!”

¹² What can I give back to the Lord
    for all the good things he has done for me?
¹³ I’ll lift up the cup of salvation.
    I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁴ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people.
¹⁵ The death of the Lord’s faithful
    is a costly loss in his eyes.

¹⁶ Oh yes, Lord, I am definitely your servant!
    I am your servant and the son of your female servant—
    you’ve freed me from my chains.
¹⁷ So I’ll offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to you,
    and I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁸ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people,
¹⁹     in the courtyards of the Lord’s house,
        which is in the center of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

⁵ In tight circumstances, I cried out to the Lord.
    The Lord answered me with wide-open spaces.
⁶ The Lord is for me^[c]—I won’t be afraid.
    What can anyone do to me?
⁷ The Lord is for me—as my helper.
    I look in victory on those who hate me.
⁸ It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust any human.
⁹ It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust any human leader.
¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
    but I cut them down^[d] in the Lord’s name.
¹¹ Yes, they surrounded me on every single side,
    but I cut them down in the Lord’s name.
¹² They surrounded me like bees,
    but they were extinguished like burning thorns.
    I cut them down in the Lord’s name!
¹³ I was pushed so hard^[e] I nearly died,
    but the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord was my strength and protection;
    he was my saving help!
¹⁵ The sounds of joyful songs and deliverance
    are heard in the tents of the righteous:
    “The Lord’s strong hand is victorious!
¹⁶     The Lord’s strong hand is ready to strike!
        The Lord’s strong hand is victorious!”

¹⁷ I won’t die—no, I will live
    and declare what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ Yes, the Lord definitely disciplined me,
    but he didn’t hand me over to death.

¹⁹ Open the gates of righteousness for me
    so I can come in and give thanks to the Lord!
²⁰ This is the Lord’s gate;
    those who are righteous enter through it.

²¹ I thank you because you answered me,
    because you were my saving help.
²² The stone rejected by the builders
    is now the main foundation stone!
²³ This has happened because of the Lord;
    it is astounding in our sight!
²⁴ This is the day the Lord acted;
    we will rejoice and celebrate in it!

²⁵ Lord, please save us!
    Lord, please let us succeed!

²⁶ The one who enters in the Lord’s name is blessed;
    we bless all of you from the Lord’s house.
²⁷ The Lord is God!
    He has shined a light on us!
So lead the festival offering with ropes
    all the way to the horns of the altar.^[f]
28 You are my God—I will give thanks to you!
    You are my God—I will lift you up high!
²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love lasts forever.