Psalm 122-124

New King James Version

The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
^(A)“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
²Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³Jerusalem is built
As a city that is ^(B)compact together,
⁴^(C)Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
^[a]To ^(D)the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵^(E)For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶^(F)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
⁷Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
⁸For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will ^(G)seek your good.

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

123 Unto You ^(H)I lift up my eyes,
O You ^(I)who dwell in the heavens.
²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
^(J)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.

³Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.

The Lord the Defense of His People

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our ^(K)side,”
^(L)Let Israel now say—
²“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
³Then they would have ^(M)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have ^[b]gone over our soul;
⁵Then the swollen waters
Would have ^[c]gone over our soul.”

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
⁷^(N)Our soul has escaped ^(O)as a bird from the snare of the ^[d]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
⁸^(P)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
^(Q)Who made heaven and earth.