Psalm 115–118
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
1 Not aunto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the 1Gentiles say,
b“So where is their God?”
3 cBut our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 dTheir idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 eThose who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 fO Israel, trust in the Lord;
gHe is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord 2has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 hHe will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be iblessed by the Lord,
jWho made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 kThe dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 lBut we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
1 I alove the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 bThe 1pains of death surrounded me,
And the 2pangs of Sheol 3laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 cGracious is the Lord, and drighteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your erest, O my soul,
For fthe Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 gFor You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
hIn the land of the living.
10 iI believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 jI said in my haste,
k“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 lI will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 mPrecious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly nI am Your servant;
I am Your servant, othe son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You pthe sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the qcourts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
4Praise the Lord!
Let All Peoples Praise the Lord
1 Praise athe Lord, all you Gentiles! 1Laud Him, all you peoples!
2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And bthe truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy
1 Oh, agive thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
bFor His mercy endures forever.
2 cLet Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 dI called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and eset me in a broad place.
6 fThe Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 gThe Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore hI shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 iIt is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9 jIt is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
11 They ksurrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me llike bees;
They were quenched mlike a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will 1destroy them.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
14 nThe Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 oThe right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 pI shall not die, but live,
And qdeclare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has rchastened 2me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.
19 sOpen to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 tThis is the gate of the Lord,
uThrough which the righteous shall enter.
For You have vanswered me,
And have become my salvation.
22 wThe stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 3This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 xBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
And He has given us ylight;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
zYou are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.