Psalm 116–118

Thanksgiving for Escaping Death

116I love the Lord,

because he listens to my prayers for help.

²He paid attention to me,

so I will call to him for help as long as I live.

³The ropes of death bound me,

and the fear of the grave took hold of me.

I was troubled and sad.

⁴Then I called out the name of the Lord.

I said, “Please, Lord, save me!”

⁵The Lord is kind and does what is right;

our God is merciful.

⁶The Lord watches over the foolish;

when I was helpless, he saved me.

⁷I said to myself, “Relax,

because the Lord takes care of you.”

⁸Lord, you saved me from death.

You stopped my eyes from crying;

you kept me from being defeated.

⁹So I will walk with the Lord

in the land of the living.

¹⁰I believed, so I said,

“I am completely ruined.”

¹¹In my distress I said,

“All people are liars.”

¹²What can I give the Lord

for all the good things he has given to me?

¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation,

and I will pray to the Lord.

¹⁴I will give the Lord what I promised

in front of all his people.

¹⁵The death of one that belongs to the Lord

is precious in his sight.

¹⁶Lord, I am your servant;

I am your servant and the son of your female servant.

You have freed me from my chains.

¹⁷I will give you an offering to show thanks to you,

and I will pray to the Lord.

¹⁸I will give the Lord what I promised

in front of all his people,

¹⁹in the Temple courtyards

in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

A Hymn of Praise

117All you nations, praise the Lord.

All you people, praise him

²because the Lord loves us very much,

and his truth is everlasting.

Praise the Lord!

Thanksgiving for Victory

118Thank the Lord because he is good.

His love continues forever.

²Let the people of Israel say,

“His love continues forever.”

³Let the family of Aaron say,

“His love continues forever.”

⁴Let those who respect the Lord say,

“His love continues forever.”

⁵I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and set me free.

⁶I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me.

People can’t do anything to me.

⁷The Lord is with me to help me,

so I will see my enemies defeated.

⁸It is better to trust the Lord

than to trust people.

⁹It is better to trust the Lord

than to trust princes.

¹⁰All the nations surrounded me,

but I defeated them in the name of the Lord.

¹¹They surrounded me on every side,

but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.

¹²They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,

but they died as quickly as thorns burn.

By the Lord’s power, I defeated them.

¹³They chased me until I was almost defeated,

but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord gives me strength and a song.

He has saved me.

¹⁵Shouts of joy and victory

come from the tents of those who do right:

“The Lord has done powerful things.”

¹⁶The power of the Lord has won the victory;

with his power the Lord has done mighty things.

¹⁷I will not die, but live,

and I will tell what the Lord has done.

¹⁸The Lord has taught me a hard lesson,

but he did not let me die.

¹⁹Open for me the Temple gates.

Then I will come in and thank the Lord.

²⁰This is the Lord’s gate;

only those who are good may enter through it.

²¹Lord, I thank you for answering me.

You have saved me.

²²The stone that the builders rejected

became the cornerstone.

²³The Lord did this,

and it is wonderful to us.

²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad today!

²⁵Please, Lord, save us;

please, Lord, give us success.

²⁶God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.

²⁷The Lord is God,

and he has shown kindness to us.

With branches in your hands, join the feast.

Come to the corners of the altar.

²⁸You are my God, and I will thank you;

you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.

²⁹Thank the Lord because he is good.

His love continues forever.