Psalm 115-116

New International Version - UK

² Why do the nations say,
    ‘Where is their God?’
³ Our God is in heaven;
    he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the Lord –
    he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the Lord –
    he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the Lord –
    he is their help and shield.

¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
    he will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord –
    small and great alike.

¹⁴ May the Lord cause you to flourish,
    both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the Lord,
    but the earth he has given to the human race.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the Lord,
    both now and for evermore.

Praise the Lord.^[a]

³ The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    ‘Lord, save me!’

⁵ The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
⁶ The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷ Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

⁸ For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I trusted in the Lord when I said,
    ‘I am greatly afflicted’;
¹¹ in my alarm I said,
    ‘Everyone is a liar.’

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his goodness to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁴ I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful servants.
¹⁶ Truly I am your servant, Lord;
    I serve you just as my mother did;
    you have freed me from my chains.

¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you
    and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord –
    in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.^[b]