¹⁰ You who love the Lord, hate evil!
    He protects the lives of his godly people
    and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
¹¹ Light shines on the godly,
    and joy on those whose hearts are right.
¹² May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord
    and praise his holy name!

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
    Samuel also called on his name.
They cried to the Lord for help,
    and he answered them.
⁷ He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud,
    and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.
⁸ O Lord our God, you answered them.
    You were a forgiving God to them,
    but you punished them when they went wrong.

⁹ Exalt the Lord our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem,
    for the Lord our God is holy!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
² Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
    Who can ever praise him enough?
³ There is joy for those who deal justly with others
    and always do what is right.

⁴ Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    come near and rescue me.
⁵ Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
    Let me rejoice in the joy of your people;
    let me praise you with those who are your heritage.

⁶ Like our ancestors, we have sinned.
    We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
⁷ Our ancestors in Egypt
    were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds.
They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.
    Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.^[a]
8 Even so, he saved them—
    to defend the honor of his name
    and to demonstrate his mighty power.
⁹ He commanded the Red Sea^[b] to dry up.
    He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.
¹⁰ So he rescued them from their enemies
    and redeemed them from their foes.
¹¹ Then the water returned and covered their enemies;
    not one of them survived.
¹² Then his people believed his promises.
    Then they sang his praise.

¹³ Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
¹⁴ In the wilderness their desires ran wild,
    testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
¹⁵ So he gave them what they asked for,
    but he sent a plague along with it.
¹⁶ The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
¹⁷ Because of this, the earth opened up;
    it swallowed Dathan
    and buried Abiram and the other rebels.
¹⁸ Fire fell upon their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.

¹⁹ The people made a calf at Mount Sinai^[c];
    they bowed before an image made of gold.
²⁰ They traded their glorious God
    for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
²¹ They forgot God, their savior,
    who had done such great things in Egypt—
²² such wonderful things in the land of Ham,
    such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
²³ So he declared he would destroy them.
    But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people.
    He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.

²⁴ The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
    for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.
²⁵ Instead, they grumbled in their tents
    and refused to obey the Lord.
²⁶ Therefore, he solemnly swore
    that he would kill them in the wilderness,
²⁷ that he would scatter their descendants^[d] among the nations,
    exiling them to distant lands.

²⁸ Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor;
    they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!
²⁹ They angered the Lord with all these things,
    so a plague broke out among them.
³⁰ But Phinehas had the courage to intervene,
    and the plague was stopped.
³¹ So he has been regarded as a righteous man
    ever since that time.

³² At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord,
    causing Moses serious trouble.
³³ They made Moses angry,^[e]
    and he spoke foolishly.

³⁴ Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land,
    as the Lord had commanded them.
³⁵ Instead, they mingled among the pagans
    and adopted their evil customs.
³⁶ They worshiped their idols,
    which led to their downfall.
³⁷ They even sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons.
³⁸ They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters.
By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan,
    they polluted the land with murder.
³⁹ They defiled themselves by their evil deeds,
    and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.

⁴⁰ That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
    and he abhorred his own special possession.
⁴¹ He handed them over to pagan nations,
    and they were ruled by those who hated them.
⁴² Their enemies crushed them
    and brought them under their cruel power.
⁴³ Again and again he rescued them,
    but they chose to rebel against him,
    and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
⁴⁴ Even so, he pitied them in their distress
    and listened to their cries.
⁴⁵ He remembered his covenant with them
    and relented because of his unfailing love.
⁴⁶ He even caused their captors
    to treat them with kindness.

⁴⁷ Save us, O Lord our God!
    Gather us back from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
    and rejoice and praise you.

⁴⁸ Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

¹ Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
    Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
² Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
    speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
³ Those who refuse to gossip
    or harm their neighbors
    or speak evil of their friends.
⁴ Those who despise flagrant sinners,
    and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
    and keep their promises even when it hurts.
⁵ Those who lend money without charging interest,
    and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
    The world and all its people belong to him.
² For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
    and built it on the ocean depths.

³ Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies.
⁵ They will receive the Lord’s blessing
    and have a right relationship with God their savior.
⁶ Such people may seek you
    and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.^[a] Interlude

⁷ Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
⁸ Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty;
    the Lord, invincible in battle.
⁹ Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
¹⁰ Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
    he is the King of glory. Interlude

¹ 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.

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.^[a]
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.