Psalm 146–147

Psalm 146

¹Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

²I will praise the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

³Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;

there is no help for you there.

⁴When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,

and all their plans die with them.

⁵But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

⁶He made heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them.

He keeps every promise forever.

⁷He gives justice to the oppressed

and food to the hungry.

The Lord frees the prisoners.

⁸The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.

The Lord loves the godly.

⁹The Lord protects the foreigners among us.

He cares for the orphans and widows,

but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever.

He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 147

¹Praise the Lord!

How good to sing praises to our God!

How delightful and how fitting!

²The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem

and bringing the exiles back to Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted

and bandages their wounds.

⁴He counts the stars

and calls them all by name.

⁵How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!

His understanding is beyond comprehension!

⁶The Lord supports the humble,

but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

⁷Sing out your thanks to the Lord;

sing praises to our God with a harp.

⁸He covers the heavens with clouds,

provides rain for the earth,

and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.

⁹He gives food to the wild animals

and feeds the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse

or in human might.

¹¹No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,

those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

¹²Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³For he has strengthened the bars of your gates

and blessed your children within your walls.

¹⁴He sends peace across your nation

and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.

¹⁵He sends his orders to the world—

how swiftly his word flies!

¹⁶He sends the snow like white wool;

he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.

¹⁷He hurls the hail like stones.

Who can stand against his freezing cold?

¹⁸Then, at his command, it all melts.

He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.

¹⁹He has revealed his words to Jacob,

his decrees and regulations to Israel.

²⁰He has not done this for any other nation;

they do not know his regulations.

Praise the Lord!