Psalm 8:1–9:20

¹Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!^b

You have covered the heavens with your majesty.^Ac

²From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,^d

you have established a stronghold^B

on account of your adversaries

in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³When I observe your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you set in place,^e

⁴what is a human being that you remember him,

a son of man^C that you look after him?^f

⁵You made him little less than God^DE

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:^g

⁷all the sheep and oxen,

as well as the animals in the wild,

⁸the birds of the sky,

and the fish of the sea

that pass through the currents of the seas.^h

⁹Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

Psalm 9

CELEBRATION OF GOD’S JUSTICE

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

¹I will thank the Lord with all my heart;

I will declare all your wondrous works.ⁱ

²I will rejoice and boast about you;^j

I will sing about your name, Most High.^k

³When my enemies retreat,

they stumble and perish before you.^l

⁴For you have upheld my just cause;^m

you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.ⁿ

⁵You have rebuked the nations:^o

You have destroyed the wicked;^p

you have erased their name forever and ever.^q

⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin;

you have uprooted the cities,

and the very memory of them has perished.^r

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever;^s

he has established his throne for judgment.^t

⁸And he judges the world with righteousness;

he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.^u

⁹The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,

a refuge in times of trouble.^v

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you

because you have not abandoned

those who seek you, Lord.^w

¹¹Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;^x

proclaim his deeds among the nations.^y

¹²For the one who seeks an accounting

for bloodshed remembers them;^z

he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.^aa

¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;

consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.^ab

Lift me up from the gates of death,^ac

¹⁴so that I may declare all your praises.

I will rejoice in your salvation^ad

within the gates of Daughter Zion.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they made;

their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.^ae

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known;

he has executed justice,^af

snaring the wicked

by the work of their hands.^a

Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol^b—

all the nations that forget God.^c

¹⁸For the needy will not always be forgotten;

the hope of the oppressed^A will not perish forever.^d

¹⁹Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;

let the nations be judged in your presence.^e

²⁰Put terror in them, Lord;^f

let the nations know they are only humans.^g

Selah