My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
1 jI lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 kMy lhelp comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot mbe moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your nkeeper;
the Lord is your oshade pon your right hand.
6 The qsun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will rkeep your life.
8 sThe Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of Ascents.
1 To you xI lift up my eyes,
O you who are yenthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
3 zHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of athose who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 bIf it had not been the Lord who was con our side—
dlet Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the eflood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 fOur help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who gtrust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord hsurrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 iDo good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
jPeace be upon Israel!
Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
1 rBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who swalks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and tit shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be ulike a fruitful vine
within your house;
vyour children will be wlike olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 xThe Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you ysee your children’s children!
zPeace be upon Israel!
They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
A Song of Ascents.
1 “Greatly1 have they afflicted me from my ayouth”—
blet Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 cMay all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be dlike the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
e“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”
My Soul Waits for the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the fdepths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be gattentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, hwho could stand?
4 But with you there is iforgiveness,
jthat you may be feared.
5 I kwait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and lin his word I hope;
6 mmy soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 nO Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is osteadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will predeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
