Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

A Song of Ascents.

120 In (A)my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
Sharp arrows of the [a]warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!

Woe is me, that I dwell in (B)Meshech,
(C)That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

121 I (D)will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
(E)My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

(F)He will not allow your foot to [b]be moved;
(G)He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your [c]keeper;
The Lord is (H)your shade (I)at your right hand.
(J)The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall [d]preserve you from all evil;
He shall (K)preserve your soul.
The Lord shall (L)preserve[e] your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

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,
(M)“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem is built
As a city that is (N)compact together,
(O)Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
[f]To (P)the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
(Q)For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

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

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

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

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our 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 (W)side,”
(X)Let Israel now say—
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have (Y)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [g]gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have [h]gone over our soul.”

Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
(Z)Our soul has escaped (AA)as a bird from the snare of the [i]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
(AB)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
(AC)Who made heaven and earth.

The Lord the Strength of His People

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

For (AD)the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

As for such as turn aside to their (AE)crooked ways,
The Lord shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

(AF)Peace be upon Israel!

A Joyful Return to Zion

A Song of Ascents.

126 When (AG)the Lord brought back [j]the captivity of Zion,
(AH)We were like those who dream.
Then (AI)our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the [k]nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.

(AJ)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes [l]forth weeping,
Bearing [m]seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again [n]with (AK)rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 120:4 mighty one
  2. Psalm 121:3 slip
  3. Psalm 121:5 protector
  4. Psalm 121:7 keep
  5. Psalm 121:8 keep
  6. Psalm 122:4 Or As a testimony to
  7. Psalm 124:4 swept over
  8. Psalm 124:5 swept over
  9. Psalm 124:7 Persons who catch birds in a trap or snare
  10. Psalm 126:1 Those of the captivity
  11. Psalm 126:2 Gentiles
  12. Psalm 126:6 to and fro
  13. Psalm 126:6 Lit. a bag of seed for sowing
  14. Psalm 126:6 with shouts of joy

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