Psalm 146–147

Psalm 146

Praise for God’s Help

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!^*

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

I will sing praises to my God all my life long.^*

³Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortals, in whom there is no help.^*

⁴When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

on that very day their plans perish.^*

⁵Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord their God,^*

⁶who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith forever;^*

⁷who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;^*

⁸the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.^*

⁹The Lord watches over the strangers;

he upholds the orphan and the widow,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.^*

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord!^*

Psalm 147

Praise for God’s Care for Jerusalem

¹Praise the Lord!

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.^*

²The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of Israel.^*

³He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.^*

⁴He determines the number of the stars;

he gives to all of them their names.^*

⁵Great is our Lord and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.^*

⁶The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;

he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on the lyre.

⁸He covers the heavens with clouds,

prepares rain for the earth,

makes grass grow on the hills.^*

⁹He gives to the animals their food

and to the young ravens when they cry.^*

¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse

nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner,^w*

¹¹but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

¹²Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

¹⁴He grants peace^x within your borders;

he fills you with the finest of wheat.^*

¹⁵He sends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.^*

¹⁶He gives snow like wool;

he scatters frost like ashes.^*

¹⁷He hurls down hail like crumbs—

who can stand before his cold?

¹⁸He sends out his word and melts them;

he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.^*

¹⁹He declares his word to Jacob,

his statutes and ordinances to Israel.^*

²⁰He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his ordinances.

Praise the Lord!^*