Psalm 113–118

Psalm 113

¹Praise the Lord.

Praise him, you who serve the Lord.

Praise the name of the Lord.

²Let us praise the name of the Lord,

both now and forever.

³From the sunrise in the east to the sunset in the west,

may the name of the Lord be praised.

⁴The Lord is honored over all of the nations.

His glory reaches to the highest heavens.

⁵Who is like the Lord our God?

He sits on his throne in heaven.

⁶He bends down to look

at the heavens and the earth.

⁷He raises poor people up from the trash pile.

He lifts needy people out of the ashes.

⁸He lets them sit with princes.

He lets them sit with the princes of their own people.

⁹He gives children to the woman who doesn’t have any children.

He makes her a happy mother in her own home.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 114

¹The people of Israel came out of Egypt.

The people of Jacob left a land where a different language was spoken.

²Then Judah became the holy place where God lived.

Israel became the land he ruled over.

³The Red Sea saw him and parted.

The Jordan River stopped flowing.

⁴The mountains leaped like rams.

The hills skipped like lambs.

⁵Red Sea, why did you part?

Jordan River, why did you stop flowing?

⁶Why did you mountains leap like rams?

Why did you hills skip like lambs?

⁷Earth, tremble with fear when the Lord comes.

Tremble when the God of Jacob is near.

⁸He turned the rock into a pool.

He turned the hard rock into springs of water.

Psalm 115

¹Lord, may glory be given to you, not to us.

You are loving and faithful.

²Why do the nations ask,

“Where is their God?”

³Our God is in heaven.

He does anything he wants to do.

⁴But the statues of their gods are made out of silver and gold.

They are made by the hands of men.

⁵They have mouths, but they can’t speak.

They have eyes, but they can’t see.

⁶They have ears, but they can’t hear.

They have noses, but they can’t smell.

⁷They have hands, but they can’t feel.

They have feet, but they can’t walk.

They have throats, but they can’t say anything.

⁸Those who make statues of gods will be like them.

So will all those who trust in them.

⁹People of Israel, trust in the Lord.

He helps you. He is like a shield that keeps you safe.

¹⁰Priests of Aaron, trust in the Lord.

He helps you. He is like a shield that keeps you safe.

¹¹You who have respect for the Lord, trust in him.

He helps you. He is like a shield that keeps you safe.

¹²The Lord remembers us and will bless us.

He will bless the people of Israel.

He will bless the priests of Aaron.

¹³The Lord will bless those who have respect for him.

He will bless important and unimportant people alike.

¹⁴May the Lord give you many children.

May he give them to you and to your children after you.

¹⁵May the Lord bless you.

He is the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶The highest heavens belong to the Lord.

But he has given the earth to human beings.

¹⁷Dead people don’t praise the Lord.

Those who lie quietly in the grave don’t praise him.

¹⁸But we who are alive praise the Lord,

both now and forever.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 116

¹I love the Lord, because he heard my voice.

He heard my cry for his favor.

²Because he paid attention to me,

I will call out to him as long as I live.

³The ropes of death were wrapped around me.

The horrors of the grave came over me.

I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

⁴Then I called out to the Lord.

I cried out, “Lord, save me!”

⁵The Lord is holy and kind.

Our God is full of tender love.

⁶The Lord takes care of those who are as helpless as children.

When I was in great need, he saved me.

⁷I said to myself, “Be calm.

The Lord has been good to me.”

⁸Lord, you have saved me from death.

You have dried the tears from my eyes.

You have kept me from tripping and falling.

⁹So now I can enjoy life here with you

while I’m still living.

¹⁰I believed in you even when I said to myself,

“I’m in great pain.”

¹¹When I was terrified, I said to myself,

“No one tells the truth.”

¹²The Lord has been so good to me!

How can I ever pay him back?

¹³I will bring an offering of wine to the Lord

and thank him for saving me.

I will worship him.

¹⁴In front of all of the Lord’s people,

I will do what I promised him.

¹⁵The Lord pays special attention

when his faithful people die.

¹⁶Lord, I serve you.

I serve you just as my mother did.

You have set me free from the chains of my suffering.

¹⁷Lord, I will sacrifice a thank offering to you.

I will worship you.

¹⁸In front of all of the Lord’s people,

I will do what I promised him.

¹⁹I will keep my promise in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.

I will keep my promise in Jerusalem itself.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 117

¹All you nations, praise the Lord.

All you people on earth, praise him.

²Great is his love for us.

The Lord is faithful forever.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 118

¹Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.

His faithful love continues forever.

²Let the people of Israel say,

“His faithful love continues forever.”

³Let the priests of Aaron say,

“His faithful love continues forever.”

⁴Let those who have respect for the Lord say,

“His faithful love continues forever.”

⁵When I was in great pain, I cried out to the Lord.

He answered me and set me free.

⁶The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid.

What can mere men do to me?

⁷The Lord is with me. He helps me.

I will win the battle over my enemies.

⁸It is better to go to the Lord for safety

than to trust in mere men.

⁹It is better to go to the Lord for safety

than to trust in human leaders.

¹⁰The nations were all around me.

But by the Lord’s power I destroyed them.

¹¹They were around me on every side.

But by the Lord’s power I destroyed them.

¹²They attacked me like large numbers of bees.

But they died out as quickly as burning thorns.

By the Lord’s power I destroyed them.

¹³I was pushed back. I was about to be killed.

But the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord gives me strength. I sing about him.

He has saved me.

¹⁵Shouts of joy ring out in the tents of godly people.

They praise him for his help in battle.

They shout, “The Lord’s powerful right hand has done mighty things!

¹⁶The Lord’s powerful right hand has won the battle!

The Lord’s powerful right hand has done mighty things!”

¹⁷I will not die. I will live.

I will talk about what the Lord has done.

¹⁸The Lord has really punished me.

But he didn’t let me die.

¹⁹Open the gates of the temple for me.

I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord.

Only those who do what is right can go through it.

²¹Lord, I will give thanks to you, because you answered me.

You have saved me.

²²The stone the builders didn’t accept

has become the most important stone of all.

²³The Lord has done it.

It is wonderful in our eyes.

²⁴The Lord has done it on this day.

Let us be joyful and glad in it.

²⁵Lord, save us.

Lord, give us success.

²⁶Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the temple of the Lord we bless you.

²⁷The Lord is God.

He has made the light of his favor shine on us.

Take branches in your hands. Join in the march on the day of the feast.

March up to the corners of the altar.

²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.

You are my God, and I will honor you.

²⁹Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.

His faithful love continues forever.