Tag Archives: Zachary Bauer

How good to sing praises to our God!
    How delightful and how fitting!
² The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem
    and bringing the exiles back to Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
    and bandages their wounds.
⁴ He counts the stars
    and calls them all by name.
⁵ How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
    His understanding is beyond comprehension!
⁶ The Lord supports the humble,
    but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

⁷ Sing out your thanks to the Lord;
    sing praises to our God with a harp.
⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds,
    provides rain for the earth,
    and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.
⁹ He gives food to the wild animals
    and feeds the young ravens when they cry.
¹⁰ He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
    or in human might.
¹¹ No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
    those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

¹² Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates
    and blessed your children within your walls.
¹⁴ He sends peace across your nation
    and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.
¹⁵ He sends his orders to the world—
    how swiftly his word flies!
¹⁶ He sends the snow like white wool;
    he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.
¹⁷ He hurls the hail like stones.^[a]
    Who can stand against his freezing cold?
¹⁸ Then, at his command, it all melts.
    He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.
¹⁹ He has revealed his words to Jacob,
    his decrees and regulations to Israel.
²⁰ He has not done this for any other nation;
    they do not know his regulations.

Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
²     I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
    I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

³ Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
    there is no help for you there.
⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
    and all their plans die with them.
⁵ But joyful are those who have the God of Israel^[a] as their helper,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.
⁶ He made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them.
    He keeps every promise forever.
⁷ He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
⁸     The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
    The Lord loves the godly.
⁹ The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
    He cares for the orphans and widows,
    but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever.
    He will be your God, O Jerusalem,^[b] throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord!

¹ I will exalt you, my God and King,
    and praise your name forever and ever.
² I will praise you every day;
    yes, I will praise you forever.
³ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness.

⁴ Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
    let them proclaim your power.
⁵ I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
    and your wonderful miracles.
⁶ Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
    I will proclaim your greatness.
⁷ Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
    they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation.
¹⁰ All of your works will thank you, Lord,
    and your faithful followers will praise you.
¹¹ They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they will give examples of your power.
¹² They will tell about your mighty deeds
    and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
¹³ For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps his promises;
    he is gracious in all he does.^[b]
14 The Lord helps the fallen
    and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you in hope;
    you give them their food as they need it.
¹⁶ When you open your hand,
    you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
    he is filled with kindness.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to all who call on him,
    yes, to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He grants the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
²⁰ The Lord protects all those who love him,
    but he destroys the wicked.

²¹ I will praise the Lord,
    and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
    forever and ever.

¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    listen to my plea!
    Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.
² Don’t put your servant on trial,
    for no one is innocent before you.
³ My enemy has chased me.
    He has knocked me to the ground
    and forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave.
⁴ I am losing all hope;
    I am paralyzed with fear.
⁵ I remember the days of old.
    I ponder all your great works
    and think about what you have done.
⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer.
    I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude

⁷ Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
    for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
    or I will die.
⁸ Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
    for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
    for I give myself to you.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
    I run to you to hide me.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
    on a firm footing.
¹¹ For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
    Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.
¹² In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies
    and destroy all my foes,
    for I am your servant.

¹ O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
    Listen when I cry to you for help!
² Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
    and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

³ Take control of what I say, O Lord,
    and guard my lips.
⁴ Don’t let me drift toward evil
    or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
    of those who do wrong.

⁵ Let the godly strike me!
    It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
    Don’t let me refuse it.

But I pray constantly
    against the wicked and their deeds.
⁶ When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,
    the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
⁷ Like rocks brought up by a plow,
    the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.^[a]

⁸ I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.
    You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
⁹ Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
    from the snares of those who do wrong.
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    but let me escape.

¹ I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
² I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honor of your name.
³ As soon as I pray, you answer me;
    you encourage me by giving me strength.

⁴ Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
    for all of them will hear your words.
⁵ Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
    for the glory of the Lord is very great.
⁶ Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud.

⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me.
⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
⁶ May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
    if I fail to remember you,
    if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

⁷ O Lord, remember what the Edomites did
    on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
    “Level it to the ground!”
⁸ O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
⁹ Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks!