120.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people.

3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you? How will he increase your punishment?

4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.

5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech. It pains me to live in distant Kedar.

6 I am tired of living among people who hate peace.

7 I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!

 

 

 

121.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

 

 

122.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.] I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

2 And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached.

4 All the tribes of Israel - the Lord's people - make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord, as the law requires of Israel.

5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David.

6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.

7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces.

8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, "May you have peace."

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

 

 

123.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.

2 We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.

4 We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant.

 

 

 

124.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.] What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat.

2 What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?

3 They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.

4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us.

5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.

6 Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart!

7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!

8 Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

 

 

 

125.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.

3 The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.

4 O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you.

5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord. Take them away with those who do evil. May Israel have peace!

 

 

 

126.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!

2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the Lord has done for them."

3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert.

5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.

6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.

 

 

 

127.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon.] Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands.

5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

 

 

 

128.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] How joyful are those who fear the Lord – all who follow his ways!

2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table.

4 That is the Lord's blessing for those who fear him.

5 May the Lord continually bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.

6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren. May Israel have peace!

 

 

 

129.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this.

2 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.

3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.

4 But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.

5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.

6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,

7 ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.

8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing. "The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord's name."

 

 

130.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.

2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.

3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?

4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

5 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

6 I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows.

8 He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.

 

 

 

131.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.] Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don't concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother's milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord - now and always.

 

 

 

132.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] Lord, remember David and all that he suffered.

2 He made a solemn promise to the Lord. He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel,

3 "I will not go home; I will not let myself rest.

4 I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber

5 until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel."

6 We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.

7 Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne.

8 Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place, along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.

9 May your priests be clothed in godliness; may your loyal servants sing for joy.

10 For the sake of your servant David, do not reject the king you have anointed.

11 The Lord swore an oath to David with a promise he will never take back. "I will place one of your descendants on your throne.

12 If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant and the laws that I teach them, then your royal line will continue forever and ever."

13 For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem; he has desired it for his home.

14 "This is my resting place forever," he said. "I will live here, for this is the home I desired.

15 I will bless this city and make it prosperous; I will satisfy its poor with food.

16 I will clothe its priests with godliness; its faithful servants will sing for joy.

17 Here I will increase the power of David; my anointed one will be a light for my people.

18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but he will be a glorious king."

 

 

 

133.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.] How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.

3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.

 

 

134.

1 [A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.] Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord.

3 May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem.

 

 

 

135.

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise him, you who serve the Lord,

2 you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.

4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.

5 I know the greatness of the Lord - that our Lord is greater than any other god.

6 The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.

7 He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

8 He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals.

9 He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people.

10 He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings -

11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.

12 He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.

14 For the Lord will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.

16 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.

17 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.

18 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

19 O Israel, praise the Lord! O priests - descendants of Aaron - praise the Lord!

20 O Levites, praise the Lord! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!

21 The Lord be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!