Psalm 116–118

PSALM 116

¹I love the Lord, because he has heard

my voice and my supplications.

²Because he inclined his ear to me,

therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

³The snares of death encompassed me;

the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

I suffered distress and anguish.

⁴Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“O Lord, I beseech thee, save my life!”

⁵Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

our God is merciful.

⁶The Lord preserves the simple;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷Return, O my soul, to your rest;

for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸For thou hast delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling;

⁹I walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

¹⁰I kept my faith, even when I said,

“I am greatly afflicted”;

¹¹I said in my consternation,

“Men are all a vain hope.”

¹²What shall I render to the Lord

for all his bounty to me?

¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord,

¹⁴I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his saints.

¹⁶O Lord, I am thy servant;

I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid.

Thou hast loosed my bonds.

¹⁷I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving

and call on the name of the Lord.

¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹in the courts of the house of the Lord,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 117

¹Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

²For great is his steadfast love toward us;

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 118

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures for ever!

²Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures for ever.”

³Let the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures for ever.”

⁴Let those who fear the Lord say,

“His steadfast love endures for ever.”

⁵Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

the Lord answered me and set me free.

⁶With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

What can man do to me?

⁷The Lord is on my side to help me;

I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to put confidence in man.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰All nations surrounded me;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹¹They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹²They surrounded me like bees,

they blazedⁱ like a fire of thorns;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹³I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,

but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

¹⁵Hark, glad songs of victory

in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,

¹⁶the right hand of the Lord is exalted,

the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”

¹⁷I shall not die, but I shall live,

and recount the deeds of the Lord.

¹⁸The Lord has chastened me sorely,

but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.

²¹I thank thee that thou hast answered me

and hast become my salvation.

²²The stone which the builders rejected

has become the head of the corner.

²³This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴This is the day which the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord!

O Lord, we beseech thee, give us success!

²⁶Blessed be he who enters in the name of the Lord!

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

²⁷The Lord is God,

and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches,

up to the horns of the altar!

²⁸Thou art my God, and I will give thanks to thee;

thou art my God, I will extol thee.

²⁹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures for ever!