(A song for worship.)

Praising the LORD at Night

   come and offer praises.

   Everyone who has gathered

   in his temple tonight,

    2lift your hands in prayer

   toward his holy place

   and praise the LORD.

    3The LORD is the Creator

   of heaven and earth,

   and I pray that the LORD

   will bless you from Zion.

A song of ascents. Of David.

 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
       running down on the beard,
       running down on Aaron's beard,
       down upon the collar of his robes.

 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
       were falling on Mount Zion.
       For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
       even life forevermore.

A song of ascents. Of David.

 2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
       like a weaned child with its mother,
       like a weaned child is my soul within me.

 3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
       both now and forevermore.

A song of ascents.

 2 O Lord, hear my voice.
       Let your ears be attentive
       to my cry for mercy.

 3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
       O Lord, who could stand?

 4 But with you there is forgiveness;
       therefore you are feared.

 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
       and in his word I put my hope.

 6 My soul waits for the Lord
       more than watchmen wait for the morning,
       more than watchmen wait for the morning.

 7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
       for with the LORD is unfailing love
       and with him is full redemption.

 8 He himself will redeem Israel
       from all their sins

A song of ascents.

 2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
       blessings and prosperity will be yours.

 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
       within your house;
       your sons will be like olive shoots
       around your table.

 4 Thus is the man blessed
       who fears the LORD.

 5 May the LORD bless you from Zion
       all the days of your life;
       may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

 6 and may you live to see your children's children.
       Peace be upon Israel.

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

 2 In vain you rise early
       and stay up late,
       toiling for food to eat—
       for he grants sleep to a]">[a] those he loves.

 3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
       children a reward from him.

 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.

 5 Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

 4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
      as streams renew the desert.
 5 Those who plant in tears
      will harvest with shouts of joy.
 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
      but they sing as they return with the harvest.

A song of ascents.

 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
       so the LORD surrounds his people
       both now and forevermore.

 3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
       over the land allotted to the righteous,
       for then the righteous might use
       their hands to do evil.

 4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
       to those who are upright in heart.

 5 But those who turn to crooked ways
       the LORD will banish with the evildoers.
       Peace be upon Israel.

A song of ascents. Of David.

 2 if the LORD had not been on our side

       when men attacked us,

 3 when their anger flared against us,

       they would have swallowed us alive;

 4 the flood would have engulfed us,

       the torrent would have swept over us,

 5 the raging waters

       would have swept us away.

 6 Praise be to the LORD,

       who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

 7 We have escaped like a bird

       out of the fowler's snare;

       the snare has been broken,

       and we have escaped.

 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,

       the Maker of heaven and earth.

A Pilgrim Song

A song of ascents. Of David.

 2 Our feet are standing
       in your gates, O Jerusalem.

 3 Jerusalem is built like a city
       that is closely compacted together.

 4 That is where the tribes go up,
       the tribes of the LORD,
       to praise the name of the LORD
       according to the statute given to Israel.

 5 There the thrones for judgment stand,
       the thrones of the house of David.

 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
       "May those who love you be secure.

 7 May there be peace within your walls
       and security within your citadels."

 8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
       I will say, "Peace be within you."

 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
       I will seek your prosperity.

 ¹ I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
       he heard my cry for mercy.

 ² Because he turned his ear to me,
       I will call on him as long as I live.

 ³ The cords of death entangled me,
       the anguish of the grave ^a]'>[a] came upon me;
       I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

 ⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD :
       "O LORD, save me!"

 ⁵ The LORD is gracious and righteous;
       our God is full of compassion.

 ⁶ The LORD protects the simplehearted;
       when I was in great need, he saved me.

 ⁷ Be at rest once more, O my soul,
       for the LORD has been good to you.

 ⁸ For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul 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 believed; therefore ^b]'>[b] I said,
       "I am greatly afflicted."

 ¹¹ And in my dismay I said,
       "All men are liars."

 ¹² How can I repay 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 fulfill 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 saints.

 ¹⁶ O LORD, truly I am your servant;
       I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ^c]'>[c] ;
       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 fulfill 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, O Jerusalem.
       Praise the LORD. ^d]'>[d]

 ¹ Not to us, O LORD, not to us
       but to your name be the glory,
       because of your love and faithfulness.

 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 the hands of men.

 ⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
       eyes, but they cannot see;

 ⁶ they have ears, but cannot hear,
       noses, but they cannot smell;

 ⁷ they have hands, but cannot feel,
       feet, but they 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 O house of Israel, trust in the LORD—
       he is their help and shield.

 ¹⁰ O 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 the house of 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 make you increase,
       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 man.

 ¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
       those who go down to silence;

 ¹⁸ it is we who extol the LORD,
       both now and forevermore.
       Praise the LORD. ^a]'>[a]

 1 When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
      when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
 2 the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
      and Israel became his kingdom.

 3 The Red Seaa]">[a] saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
      The water of the Jordan River turned away.
 4 The mountains skipped like rams,
      the hills like lambs!
 5 What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
      What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
 6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
      Why, hills, like lambs?

 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
      at the presence of the God of Jacob.
 8 He turned the rock into a pool of water;
      yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.

A song. A psalm of David.

 ² Awake, harp and lyre!
       I will awaken the dawn.

 ³ I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
       I will sing of you among the peoples.

 ⁴ For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
       your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
       and let your glory be over all the earth.

 ⁶ Save us and help us with your right hand,
       that those you love may be delivered.

 ⁷ God has spoken from his sanctuary:
       "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
       and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

 ⁸ Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
       Ephraim is my helmet,
       Judah my scepter.

 ⁹ Moab is my washbasin,
       upon Edom I toss my sandal;
       over Philistia I shout in triumph."

 ¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
       Who will lead me to Edom?

 ¹¹ Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us
       and no longer go out with our armies?

 ¹² Give us aid against the enemy,
       for the help of man is worthless.

 ¹³ With God we will gain the victory,
       and he will trample down our enemies.