Psalms 100 - 106
100
Acclaim the LORD, all men on earth,
worship the LORD in gladness;
enter his presence with songs of exultation.
Know that the LORD is God;
he has made us and we are his own,
his people, the flock which he shepherds.
Enter the gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name;
for the LORD is good and his love is everlasting,
his constancy endures to all generations.
101
I sing of loyalty and justice;
I will raise a psalm to thee, O LORD.
I will follow a wise and balanced course,
whatever may befall me.
I will go about my house in purity of heart.
I will set before myself no sordid aim;
I will hate disloyalty, I will have none of it.
I will reject all crooked thoughts;
I will have no dealings with evil.
I will silence those who spread tales behind men's backs,
I will not sit at table with proud, pompous men,
I will choose the most loyal for my companions;
my servants shall be men whose lives are blameless.
No scandal-monger shall live in my household;
no liar shall set himself where I can see him.
Morning after morning I will put all wicked men to silence
and will rid the LORD's city of all evildoers.
102
LORD, hear my prayer
and let my cry for help reach thee.
Hide not thy face from me
when I am in distress.
Listen to my prayer
and, when I call, answer me soon;
for my days vanish like smoke,
my body is burnt up as in an oven.
I am stricken, withered like grass;
I cannot find the strength to eat.
Wasted away, I groan aloud
and my skin hangs on my bones.
I am like a desert-owl in the wilderness,
an owl that lives among ruins.
Thin and meagre, I wail in solitude,
like a bird that flutters on the roof-top.
My enemies insult me all the day long;
mad with rage, they conspire against me.
I have eaten ashes for bread
and mingled tears with my drink.
In thy wrath and fury
thou hast taken me up and flung me aside.
My days decline as the shadows lengthen,
and like grass I wither away.
But thou, LORD, art enthroned for ever
and thy fame shall be known to all generations.
Thou wilt arise and have mercy on Zion;
for the time is come to pity her.
Her very stones are dear to thy servants,
and even her dust moves them with pity.
Then shall the nations revere thy name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth thy glory,
when the LORD builds up Zion again
and shows himself in his glory.
He turns to hear the prayer of the destitute
and does not scorn them when they pray.
This shall be written down for future generations,
and a people yet unborn shall praise the LORD.
The LORD looks down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he surveys the earth
to listen to the groaning of the prisoners
and set free men under sentence of death;
so shall the LORD's name be on men's lips in Zion
and his praise shall be told in Jerusalem,
when his peoples are assembled together,
peoples and kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
My strength is broken i mid course;
the time allotted me is short.
Snatch me not away before half my days are done,
for thy years last through all generations.
Long ago didst thou lay the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens were thy handiwork.
They shall pass away, but thou endurest;
like clothes they shall all grow old;
thou shalt cast them off like a cloak,
and they shall vanish;
but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end;
thy servants' children shall continue,
and their posterity shall be established in thy presence.
103
Bless the LORD, my soul;
my innermost heart, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits.
He pardons all my guilt
and heals all my suffering.
He rescues me from the pit of death
and surrounds me with constant love,
with tender affection;
he contents me with all good in the prime of life,
and my youth is ever new like an eagle's.
The LORD is righteous in his acts;
he brings justice to all who have been wronged.
He taught Moses to know his way
and showed the Israelites what he could do.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
long suffering and for ever constant;
he will not always be the accuser
or nurse his anger for all time.
He has nit treated us as our sins deserve
or requited us for our misdeeds.
For as the heaven stands high above the earth,
so his strong love stands high over all who fear him.
Far as east is from west,
so far has he put our offences away from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so has the LORD compassion on all who fear him.
For he knows how we were made,
he knows full well that we are dust.
Man's days are like grass;
he blossoms like the flowers of the field:
a wind passes over them, and they cease to be,
and their place knows them no more.
But the LORD's love never fails those who fear him;
his righteousness never fails their sons and their grandsons
who listen to his voice and keep his covenant,
who remember his commandments and obey them.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
his kingly power over the whole world.
Bless the LORD, all his angels,
creatures of might who do his bidding.
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers who serve his will.
Bless the LORD, all created things,
in every place where he has dominion.
Bless the LORD, my soul.
104
Bless the LORD, my soul:
O LORD my God, thou art great indeed,
clothed in majesty and splendour,
and wrapped in a robe of light.
Thou hast spread out the heavens like a tent
and on their waters laid the beams of thy pavilion;
who takest the clouds for thy chariot,
riding on the wings of the wind;
who makest the winds thy messengers
and flames of fire thy servants;
thou didst fix the earth on its foundation
so that it never can be shaken;
the deep overspread it like a cloak,
and the waters lay above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they ran,
at the sound of thy thunder they rushed away,
flowing over the hills,
pouring down into the valleys
to the place appointed for them.
Thou didst fix a boundary which they might not pass;
they shall not return to cover the earth.
Thou dost make springs break out in the gullies,
so that their water runs between the hills.
The wild beasts all drink from them,
the wild asses quench their thirst;
the birds of the air nest on their banks
and sing among the leaves.
From thy high pavilion thou dost water the hills;
the earth is enriched by thy provision.
Thou makest grass grow for the cattle
and green things for those who toil for man,
bringing bread out of the earth
and wine to gladden men's hearts,
oil to make their faces shine
and bread to sustain their strength.
The trees of the LORD are green and leafy,
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted;
the birds which built their nests in them,
the stork makes her home in their tops.
High hills are the haunt of the mountain-goat,
and boulders a refuge for the rock-badger.
Thou hast made the moon to measure the year
and taught the sun where to set.
When thou makest darkness and it is night,
all the beasts of the forest come forth;
the young lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.
When thou makest the sun rise, they slink away
and go rest in their lairs;
but man comes out to his work
and to his labours until evening.
Countless are the things thou hast made, O LORD.
Thou hast made all by thy wisdom;
and the earth is full of thy creatures,
beasts great and small.
Here is the great immeasurable sea,
in which move creatures beyond number.
Here ships sail to and fro,
here is Leviathan whom thou hast made thy plaything.
All of them look expectantly to thee
to give them their food at the proper time;
what thou givest they gather up;
when thou openest thy hand, they eat their fill.
When they hidest thy face, and they are restless and troubled;
when thou hast taken away their breath, they fail
[and they return to the dust from which they came];
but when thou breathest into them, they recover;
thou givest new life to the earth.
May the glory of the LORD stand for ever
and may he rejoice in his works!
When he looks at the earth, it quakes;
when he touches the hills they pour forth smoke.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live,
all my life I will sing psalms to my God.
May my meditation please the LORD,
as I show my joy in him!
Away with all sinners from the earth
and may the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, my soul.
O praise the LORD.
105
Give the LORD thanks and invoke him by name,
make his deeds known in the world around.
Pay him honour with song and psalm
Exult in his hallowed name;
let those who seek the LORD be joyful in heart.
Turn to the LORD your strength,
seek his presence always.
Remember the wonders that he has wrought,
his portents and the judgements he has given,
O offspring of Abraham his servant, O chosen sons of Jacob.
He is the LORD our God;
his judgements fill the earth.
He called to mind his covenant from long ago,
the promise he extended to a thousand generations——
the covenant made with Abraham,
his oath given to Isaac,
the decree by which he bound himself to Jacob,
his everlasting covenant with Israel:
'I will give you the land of Canaan', he said,
'to be your possession, your patrimony.'
A small company it was,
few in number, strangers in that land,
roaming from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another;
but he let no one ill-treat them,
for their sake he admonished kings:
'Touch not my anointed servants,
do my prophets no harm.'
He called down famine on the land
and cut short their daily bread.
But he had sent on a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold into slavery;
he was kept a prisoner with fetters on his feet
and an iron collar clamped on his neck.
He was tested by the LORD's command
until what he foretold came true.
Then the king sent and set him free,
the ruler of nations released him;
he made him master of his household
and ruler over all his possessions,
to correct his officers at will
and teach his counsellors wisdom.
Then Israel too went down into Egypt
and Jacob came to live in the land of ham.
There God made his people very fruitful,
he made them stronger than their enemies,
whose hearts he turned to hatred of his people
and double-dealing with his servants.
He sent his servant Moses
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They were his mouthpiece to announce his signs,
his portents in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and all was dark,
but still they resisted his commands.
He turned their waters into blood
and killed all their fish.
Their country swarmed with frogs,
even their princes' inner chambers.
At his command came swarms of flies
and maggots the whole land through.
He changed their rain into hail
and flashed fire over their country.
He blasted their vines and their fig-trees
and splintered the trees throughout the land.
At his command came locusts,
hoppers past all number,
they consumed every green thing in the land,
consumed all the produce of the soil.
Then he struck down all the first-born of Egypt,
the firstfruits of their manhood;
he led Israel out, laden with silver and gold,
and among all their tribes no man fell.
The Egyptians were glad when they went,
for fear of Israel had taken hold of them.
He spread a cloud as a screen,
and fire to light up the night.
They asked, and he sent them quails,
he gave them bread from heaven in plenty.
He opened a rock and water gushed out,
a river flowing in a parched land;
for he had remembered his solemn promise
given to his servant Abraham.
So he led out his people rejoicing,
his chosen ones in triumph.
He gave them the lands of heathen nations
and they took possession where others had toiled,
so that they might keep his statutes
and obey his laws.
O praise the LORD.
106
O praise the LORD.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD;
for his love endurest for ever.
Who will tell of the LORD's mighty acts
and make his praises heard?
Happy are they who act justly
and do right at all times!
Remember me, LORD, when thou showest favour to thy people,
look upon me when thou savest them,
that I may see the prosperity of thy chosen,
rejoice i thy nation's joy and exult with thy own people.
We have sinned like our forefathers,
we have erred and done wrong.
Our fathers in Egypt took no account of thy marvels,
they did not remember thy many acts of faithful love,
but in spite of all they rebelled by the Red Sea.
Yet the LORD delivered them for his name's sake
and so made known his mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
he led his people through the deeps as through the wilderness.
So he delivered them from those who hated them,
and claimed them back from the enemy's hand.
The waters closed over their adversaries,
not one of them survived.
Then they believed his promises and sang praises to him.
But they quickly forgot all he had done
and would not wait to hear his counsel;
their greed was insatiable in the wilderness,
they tried God's patience in the desert.
He gave them what they asked
but sent a wasting sickness among them.
They were envious of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.
The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
it closed over the company of Abiram;
fire raged through their company,
the wicked perished in flames.
At Horeb they made a calf
and bowed down to an image;
they exchanged their Glory
for the image of bull that feeds on grass.
They forgot God their deliverer,
who had done the great deeds in Egypt,
marvels in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
So his purpose was to destroy them,
but Moses, the man he had chosen,
threw himself into the breach
to turn back his wrath lest it destroy them.
They made light of the pleasant land,
disbelieving his promise;
they muttered treason in their tents
and would not obey the LORD.
So with uplifted hand he swore
to strike them down in the wilderness,
to scatter their descendants among the nations
and disperse them throughout the world.
They joined in worshipping the Baal of Peor
and ate their meat sacrificed to lifeless gods.
Their deeds provoked the LORD to anger,
and plague broke out amongst them;
but Phinehas stood up and interceded,
so the plague was stopped.
This was counted to him as righteousness
throughout all generations for ever.
They did not destroy the peoples round about,
as the LORD had commanded them to do,
but they mingled with the nations,
learning their ways;
they worshipped their idols
and were ensnared by them.
Their sons and daughters
they sacrificed to foreign demons;
they shed innocent blood,
the blood of sons and daughters
offered to the gods of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
Thus they defiled themselves by their conduct
and they followed their lusts and broke faith with God.
Then the LORD grew angry with his people
and loathed them, his own chosen nation;
so he gave them into the hands of the nations,
and they were ruled by their foes;
their enemies oppressed them
and made them subject to their power.
Many times he came to their rescue,
but they were disobedient and rebellious still.
And yet, when he heard them wail and cry aloud,
he looked with pity on their distress;
he called to mind his covenant with them
and, in his boundless love, relented;
he roused compassion for them
in the hearts of their captors.
Deliver us, O LORD our God,
and gather us in from among the nations
that we may give thanks to thy holy name
and make thy praise our pride.
Blessed be the LORD the God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting;
and let all the people say 'Amen.'
O praise the LORD.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Jul 3, 2019, 9:48 PM UTC
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