Book Order Plan

¹A Song of Ascents. Behold, bless and praise the LORD, all servants of the LORD (priests, Levites), Who stand and serve by night in the house of the LORD.

²Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD.

³May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.

¹Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!) Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O servants of the LORD (priests, Levites),

²You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God,

³Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is gracious and lovely.

⁴For the LORD has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own special treasure and possession.

⁵For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.

⁶Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps—

⁷Who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightning for the rain, Who brings the wind from His storehouses;

⁸Who struck the firstborn of Egypt, Both of man and animal;

⁹Who sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰Who struck many nations And killed mighty kings,

¹¹Sihon, king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan;

¹²And He gave their land as a heritage, A heritage to Israel His people.

¹³Your name, O LORD, endures forever, Your fame and remembrance, O LORD, [endures] throughout all generations.

¹⁴For the LORD will judge His people And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.

¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see;

¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make idols are like them [absolutely worthless—spiritually blind, deaf, and powerless]; So is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.

¹⁹O house of Israel, bless and praise the LORD [with gratitude]; O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

²⁰O house of Levi, bless the LORD; You who fear the LORD [and worship Him with obedience], bless the LORD [with grateful praise]!

²¹Blessed be the LORD from Zion, Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem. Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

²Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness endures forever.

³Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness endures forever.

⁴To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁵To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁶To Him who stretched out the earth upon the waters, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁷To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁸The sun to rule over the day, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁹The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁰To Him who struck the firstborn of Egypt, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹¹And brought Israel out from among them, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹²With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹³To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁴And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁵But tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁶To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁷To Him who struck down great kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁸And killed mighty kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁰And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²¹And gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²²Even a heritage to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²³Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁴And has rescued us from our enemies, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁵Who gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

¹By the rivers of Babylon, There we [captives] sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

²On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon We hung our harps.

³For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words, And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

⁴How can we sing the Lord's song In a strange and foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].

⁶Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not prefer Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

⁷Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom, The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem, Who said "Down, down [with her] To her very foundation."

⁸O daughter of Babylon, you devastator, How blessed will be the one Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.

⁹How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.

¹A Psalm of David. I will give You thanks with all my heart; I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.

²I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.

³On the day I called, You answered me; And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.

⁴All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O LORD, When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].

⁵Yes, they will sing of the ways of the LORD [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts], For great is the glory and majesty of the LORD.

⁶Though the LORD is exalted, He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship]; But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

⁸The LORD will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O LORD, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.

²You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do]; You understand my thought from afar.

³You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken], Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

⁵You have enclosed me behind and before, And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.

⁶Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.

⁹If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

¹⁰Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.

¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,"

¹²Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother's womb.

¹⁴I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹O that You would kill the wicked, O God; Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

²⁰For they speak against You wickedly, Your enemies take Your name in vain.

²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

²²I hate them with perfect and utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.

²³Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts;

²⁴And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Protect me from violent men.

²They devise evil things in their hearts; They continually [gather together and] stir up wars.

³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent's; Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.

⁴Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Protect me from violent men Who intend to trip up my steps.

⁵The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah.

⁶I said to the LORD, "You are my God; Listen to the voice of my supplications, O LORD.

⁷"O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸"Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further their evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.

⁹"Those who surround me raise their heads; May the mischief of their own lips come upon them.

¹⁰"Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be thrown into the fire, Into deep [water] pits from which they cannot rise.

¹¹"Do not let a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil quickly hunt the violent man [to overthrow him and stop his evil acts]."

¹²I know [with confidence] that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, And [will secure] justice for the poor.

¹³Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.