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9They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what GOD commanded. And GOD accepted Job's prayer.

10After Job had interceded for his friends, GOD restored his fortune-and then doubled it! 11All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble GOD had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.

12GOD blessed Job's later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. 15There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

16Job lived on another hundred and forty years, living to see his children and grandchildren-four generations of them! 17Then he died-an old man, a full life.

2Instead you thrill to GOD's Word,
you chew on Scripture day and night.

3You're a tree replanted in Eden,
bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
always in blossom.

4You're not at all like the wicked,
who are mere windblown dust-

5Without defense in court,
unfit company for innocent people.

6GOD charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.

2Earth-leaders push for position,
Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:

3“Let's get free of God!
Cast loose from Messiah!”

4Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing.
At first he's amused at their presumption;

5Then he gets good and angry.
Furiously, he shuts them up:

6“Don't you know there's a King in Zion? A coronation banquet
Is spread for him on the holy summit.”

7Let me tell you what GOD said next.
He said, “You're my son,
And today is your birthday.

8What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?

9You can command them all to dance for you,
Or throw them out with tomorrow's trash.”

10So, rebel-kings, use your heads;
Upstart-judges, learn your lesson:

11Worship GOD in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe. 12Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know;
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God-you won't regret it!

2Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
“Hah! No help for him from God!”

3But you, GOD, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;

4With all my might I shout up to GOD,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.

5I stretch myself out. I sleep.
Then I'm up again-rested, tall and steady,

6Fearless before the enemy mobs
Coming at me from all sides.

7Up, GOD! My God, help me!
Slap their faces,
First this cheek, then the other,
Your fist hard in their teeth!

8Real help comes from GOD.
Your blessing clothes your people!

2You rabble-how long do I put up with your scorn?
How long will you lust after lies?
How long will you live crazed by illusion?

3Look at this: look
Who got picked by GOD!
He listens the split second I call to him.

4Complain if you must, but don't lash out.
Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.

5Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.

6Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.
“More, more.”
I have God's more-than-enough,

7More joy in one ordinary day
Than they get in all their shopping sprees.

8At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep,
For you, GOD, have put my life back together.

2my groans and cries?
King-God, I need your help.

3Every morning
you'll hear me at it again.
Every morning
I lay out the pieces of my life
on your altar
and watch for fire to descend.

4You don't socialize with Wicked,
or invite Evil over as your houseguest.

5Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.

6GOD destroys Lie-Speaker;
Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

7And here I am, your invited guest-
it's incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
prostrate in your inner sanctum,

8Waiting for directions
to get me safely through enemy lines.

9Every word they speak is a land mine;
their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
their tongues slick as mudslides.

10Pile on the guilt, God!
Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They've had their chance.

11But you'll welcome us with open arms
when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
Stand guard over our celebration.

12You are famous, GOD, for welcoming God-seekers,
for decking us out in delight.

2Treat me nice for a change;
I'm so starved for affection.
Can't you see I'm black and blue,
beat up badly in bones 3and soul?
GOD, how long will it take
for you to let up?

4Break in, GOD, and break up this fight;
if you love me at all, get me out of here.

5I'm no good to you dead, am I?
I can't sing in your choir if I'm buried in some tomb!

6I'm tired of all this-so tired. My bed
has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.

7The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
nearly blind, I squint and grope.

8Get out of here, you Devil's crew:
at last GOD has heard my sobs.

9My requests have all been granted,
my prayers are answered.

10Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

2If they catch me, I'm finished:
ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
dragged into the forest and left
unlooked for, unremembered.

3GOD, if I've done what they say-4betrayed my friends,
ripped off my enemies-
If my hands are really that dirty,

5let them get me, walk all over me,
leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

6Stand up, GOD; pit your holy fury
against my furious enemies.
Wake up, God. 7My accusers have packed
the courtroom; it's judgment time.

8Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
throw out the false charges against me.
I'm ready, confident in your verdict:
“Innocent.”

9Close the book on Evil, GOD,
but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
you probe for our soft spots,
you knock off our rough edges.

10And I'm feeling so fit, so safe:
made right, kept right.

11God in solemn honor does things right,
but his nerves are sandpapered raw.
Nobody gets by with anything.

12God is already in action-
Sword honed on his whetstone,
bow strung, arrow on the string,

13Lethal weapons in hand,
each arrow a flaming missile.

14Look at that guy!
He had sex with sin,
he's pregnant with evil.
Oh, look! He's having
the baby-a Lie-Baby!

15See that man shoveling day after day,
digging, then concealing, his man-trap
down that lonely stretch of road?
Go back and look again-you'll see him in it headfirst,
legs waving in the breeze.

16That's what happens:
mischief backfires;
violence boomerangs.

17I'm thanking God, who makes things right.
I'm singing the fame of heaven-high GOD.

2Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.

3I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

4Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?

5Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.

6You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,

7Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,

8Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9GOD, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.

2I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I'm singing your song, High God.

3The day my enemies turned tail and ran,
they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.

4You took over and set everything right;
when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

5You blow the whistle on godless nations;
you throw dirty players out of the game,
wipe their names right off the roster.

6Enemies disappear from the sidelines,
their reputation trashed,
their names erased from the halls of fame.

7GOD holds the high center,
he sees and sets the world's mess right.

8He decides what is right for us earthlings,
gives people their just deserts.

9GOD's a safe-house for the battered,
a sanctuary during bad times.

10The moment you arrive, you relax;
you're never sorry you knocked.

11Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling GOD,
tell his stories to everyone you meet:

12How he tracks down killers
yet keeps his eye on us,
registers every whimper and moan.

13Be kind to me, GOD;
I've been kicked around long enough.
Once you've pulled me back
from the gates of death,

14I'll write the book on Hallelujahs;
on the corner of Main and First
I'll hold a street meeting;
I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air
with salvation songs.

15They're trapped, those godless countries,
in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
in the net they spread.

16They have no excuse;
the way God works is well-known.
The cunning machinery made by the wicked
has maimed their own hands.

17The wicked bought a one-way
ticket to hell.

18No longer will the poor be nameless-
no more humiliation for the humble.

19Up, GOD! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting?
Expose these grand pretensions!

20Shake them up, GOD!
Show them how silly they look.

2Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.

3The wicked are windbags,
the swindlers have foul breath.

4The wicked snub GOD,
their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
“Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”

5They care nothing for what you think;
if you get in their way, they blow you off.

6They live (they think) a charmed life:
“We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!”

7They carry a mouthful of hexes,
their tongues spit venom like adders.

8They hide behind ordinary people,
then pounce on their victims.

9They mark the luckless,
then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
they stab him in the back.

10The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
the unlucky victim is brutally axed.

11He thinks God has dumped him,
he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.

12Time to get up, GOD-get moving.
The luckless think they're Godforsaken.

13They wonder why the wicked scorn God
and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
they'll never come up for audit.

14But you know all about it-
the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
will get lucky someday in you.
You won't let them down:
orphans won't be orphans forever.

15Break the wicked right arms,
break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
every sign of crime.

16GOD's grace and order wins;
godlessness loses.

17The victim's faint pulse picks up;
the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
as you put your ear to their lips.

18Orphans get parents,
the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
the rule of the gang lords is ended.

3The bottom's dropped out of the country;
good people don't have a chance”?

4But GOD hasn't moved to the mountains;
his holy address hasn't changed.
He's in charge, as always, his eyes
taking everything in, his eyelids
Unblinking, examining Adam's unruly brood
inside and out, not missing a thing.

5He tests the good and the bad alike;
if anyone cheats, God's outraged.

6Fail the test and you're out,
out in a hail of firestones,
Drinking from a canteen
filled with hot desert wind.

7GOD's business is putting things right;
he loves getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we're standing tall,
we can look him straight in the eye.

2Everyone talks in lie language;
Lies slide off their oily lips.
They doubletalk with forked tongues.

3Slice their lips off their faces! Pull
The braggart tongues from their mouths!

4I'm tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!
Our lips manage the world.”

5Into the hovels of the poor,
Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:
“I've had enough; I'm on my way
To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

6God's words are pure words,
Pure silver words refined seven times
In the fires of his word-kiln,
Pure on earth as well as in heaven.

7GOD, keep us safe from their lies,
From the wicked who stalk us with lies,

8From the wicked who collect honors
For their wonderful lies.

3Take a good look at me, GOD, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,

4So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

5I've thrown myself headlong into your arms-
I'm celebrating your rescue.

6I'm singing at the top of my lungs,
I'm so full of answered prayers.

2GOD sticks his head out of heaven.
He looks around.
He's looking for someone not stupid-
one man, even, God-expectant,
just one God-ready woman.

3He comes up empty. A string
of zeros. Useless, unshepherded
Sheep, taking turns pretending
to be Shepherd.
The ninety and nine
follow their fellow.

4Don't they know anything,
all these impostors?
Don't they know
they can't get away with this-
Treating people like a fast-food meal
over which they're too busy to pray?

5Night is coming for them, and nightmares,
for God takes the side of victims.

6Do you think you can mess
with the dreams of the poor?
You can't, for God
makes their dreams come true.

7Is there anyone around to save Israel?
Yes. God is around; GOD turns life around.
Turned-around Jacob skips rope,
turned-around Israel sings laughter.

2“Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.

3“Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;

4despise the despicable.
“Keep your word even when it costs you,

5make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
“You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this.”

2I say to GOD, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.

3And these God-chosen lives all around-
what splendid friends they make!

4Don't just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I'll never treat god-names
like brand-names.

5My choice is you, GOD, first and only.
And now I find I'm your choice!

6You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

7The wise counsel GOD gives when I'm awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.

8Day and night I'll stick with GOD;
I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go.

9I'm happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I'm firmly formed.

10You canceled my ticket to hell-
that's not my destination!

11Now you've got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I'm on the right way.

2Show the world I'm innocent-
in your heart you know I am.

3Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night-
You'll find I'm just what I say I am.
My words don't run loose.

4I'm not trying to get my way
in the world's way.
I'm trying to get your way,
your Word's way.

5I'm staying on your trail;
I'm putting one foot
In front of the other.
I'm not giving up.

6I call to you, God, because I'm sure of an answer.
So-answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!

7Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.

8Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers

9From the wicked who are out to get me,
from mortal enemies closing in.

10Their hearts are hard as nails,
their mouths blast hot air.

11They are after me, nipping my heels,
determined to bring me down,

12Lions ready to rip me apart,
young lions poised to pounce.

13Up, GOD: beard them! break them!
By your sword, free me from their clutches;

14Barehanded, GOD, break these mortals,
these flat-earth people who can't think beyond today.
I'd like to see their bellies
swollen with famine food,
The weeds they've sown
harvested and baked into famine bread,
With second helpings for their children
and crusts for their babies to chew on.

15And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I'll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.

2GOD is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God-the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.

3I sing to GOD, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.

4The hangman's noose was tight at my throat;
devil waters rushed over me.

5Hell's ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.

6A hostile world! I call to GOD,
I cry to God to help me.
From his palace he hears my call;
my cry brings me right into his presence-
a private audience!

7Earth wobbles and lurches;
huge mountains shake like leaves,
Quake like aspen leaves
because of his rage.

8His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke;
his mouth spits fire.
Tongues of fire dart in and out;

9he lowers the sky.
He steps down;
under his feet an abyss opens up.

10He's riding a winged creature,
swift on wind-wings.

11Now he's wrapped himself
in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.

12But his cloud-brightness bursts through,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.

13Then GOD thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.

14God shoots his arrows-pandemonium!
He hurls his lightnings-a rout!

15The secret sources of ocean are exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered
The moment you roar in protest,
let loose your hurricane anger.

16But me he caught-reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, 17that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.

18They hit me when I was down,
but GOD stuck by me.

19He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved-surprised to be loved!

20GOD made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.

21Now I'm alert to GOD's ways;
I don't take God for granted.

22Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.

23I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.

24GOD rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

25The good people taste your goodness,
The whole people taste your health,

26The true people taste your truth,
The bad ones can't figure you out.

27You take the side of the down-and-out,
But the stuck-up you take down a peg.

28Suddenly, GOD, you floodlight my life;
I'm blazing with glory, God's glory!

29I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the highest fences.

30What a God! His road
stretches straight and smooth.
Every GOD-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.

31Is there any god like GOD?
Are we not at bedrock?

32Is not this the God who armed me,
then aimed me in the right direction?

33Now I run like a deer;
I'm king of the mountain.

34He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!

35You protect me with salvation-armor;
you hold me up with a firm hand,
caress me with your gentle ways.

36You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.

37When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn't let go till they were dead men.

38I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.

39You armed me well for this fight,
you smashed the upstarts.

40You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.

41They cried “uncle”
but Uncle didn't come;
They yelled for GOD
and got no for an answer.

42I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.

43You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I'd never heard of served me;

44the moment they got wind of me they listened.
The foreign devils gave up; 45they came
on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.

46Live, GOD! Blessings from my Rock,
my free and freeing God, towering!

47This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.

48He rescued me from enemy anger,
he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
He saved me from the bullies.

49That's why I'm thanking you, GOD,
all over the world.
That's why I'm singing songs
that rhyme your name.

50God's king takes the trophy;
God's chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children-
always.

2Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.

3Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,

4But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
God makes a huge dome
for the sun-a superdome!

5The morning sun's a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.

6That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.

7The revelation of GOD is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of GOD are clear
and point out the right road.

8The life-maps of GOD are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of GOD are plain
and easy on the eyes.

9GOD's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of GOD are accurate
down to the nth degree.

10God's Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.

11There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.

12Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?

13Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

14These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

2Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,

3Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,

4Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.

5When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!

6That clinches it-help's coming,
an answer's on the way,
everything's going to work out.

7See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we're making garlands for GOD our God.

8The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame-
and we'll be on our feet, standing tall.

9Make the king a winner, GOD;
the day we call, give us your answer.

2You gave him exactly what he wanted;
you didn't hold back.

3You filled his arms with gifts;
you gave him a right royal welcome.

4He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
and then made it a long life as a bonus.

5You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
then dressed him in rainbow colors.

6You pile blessings on him;
you make him glad when you smile.

7Is it any wonder the king loves GOD?
that he's sticking with the Best?

8With a fistful of enemies in one hand
and a fistful of haters in the other,

9You radiate with such brilliance
that they cringe as before a furnace.
Now the furnace swallows them whole,
the fire eats them alive!

10You purge the earth of their progeny,
you wipe the slate clean.

11All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
have fizzled-every one.

12You sent them packing;
they couldn't face you.

13Show your strength, GOD, so no one can miss it.
We are out singing the good news!

2Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.

3And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel's praise?

4We know you were there for our parents:

5they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.

6And here I am, a nothing-an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.

7Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:

8“Let's see how GOD handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let him help him!”

9And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother's breasts!

10When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you've been my God.

11Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next-door.
I need a neighbor.

12Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,

13Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.

14I'm a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.

15I'm dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.

16Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,

17and lock me in a cage-a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.

18They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.

19You, GOD-don't put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!

20Don't let them cut my throat;
don't let those mongrels devour me.

21If you don't show up soon,
I'm done for-gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.

22Here's the story I'll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

23Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.

24He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.

25Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I'll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.

26Down-and-outers sit at GOD's table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don't ever quit!”

27From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to GOD.
Long-lost families
are falling on their faces before him.

28GOD has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.

29All the power-mongers are before him
-worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
-worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
-worshiping!

30Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.

31Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news-
that God does what he says.

2You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.

3True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

4Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.

5You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

6Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.

2He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.

3Who can climb Mount GOD?
Who can scale the holy north-face?

4Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.

5GOD is at their side;
with GOD's help they make it.

6This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.

7Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

8Who is this King-Glory?
GOD, armed
and battle-ready.

9Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

10Who is this King-Glory?
GOD of the angel armies:
he is King-Glory.

2I'm looking to you, GOD;
No hangdog skulking for me.

3I've thrown in my lot with you;
You won't embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?
Don't embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It's the traitors who should be humiliated.

4Show me how you work, GOD;
School me in your ways.

5Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren't you?

6Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, GOD;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

7Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, GOD!

8GOD is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.

9He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.

10From now on every road you travel
Will take you to GOD.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.

11Keep up your reputation, GOD;
Forgive my bad life;
It's been a very bad life.

12My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God's bull's-eye.

13They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.

14God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.

15If I keep my eyes on GOD,
I won't trip over my own feet.

16Look at me and help me!
I'm all alone and in big trouble.

17My heart and kidneys are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.

18Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.

19Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?

20Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don't let me down when I run to you.

21Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.

22GOD, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck.

2Examine me, GOD, from head to foot,
order your battery of tests.
Make sure I'm fit
inside and out

3So I never lose
sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
never missing a beat.

4I don't hang out with tricksters,
I don't pal around with thugs;

5I hate that pack of gangsters,
I don't deal with double-dealers.

6I scrub my hands with purest soap,
then join hands with the others in the great circle,
dancing around your altar, GOD,

7Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
telling God-stories.

8GOD, I love living with you;
your house glows with your glory.

9When it's time for spring cleaning,
don't sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,

10Men with bags of dirty tricks,
women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.

11You know I've been aboveboard with you;
now be aboveboard with me.

12I'm on the level with you, GOD;
I bless you every chance I get.

2When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.

3When besieged,
I'm calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I'm collected and cool.

4I'm asking GOD for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I'll contemplate his beauty;
I'll study at his feet.

5That's the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.

6God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I'm headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I'm singing God-songs;
I'm making music to GOD.

7Listen, GOD, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”

8When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I'm seeking him!”

9Don't hide from me now!
You've always been right there for me;
don't turn your back on me now.
Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
you've always kept the door open.

10My father and mother walked out and left me,
but GOD took me in.

11Point me down your highway, GOD;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you're on.

12Don't throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.

13I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
in the exuberant earth.

14Stay with GOD!
Take heart. Don't quit.
I'll say it again:
Stay with GOD.

2I'm letting you know what I need,
calling out for help
And lifting my arms
toward your inner sanctum.

3Don't shove me into
the same jail cell with those crooks,
With those who are
full-time employees of evil.

4They talk a good line of “peace,”
then moonlight for the Devil.
Pay them back for what they've done,
for how bad they've been.
Pay them back for their long hours
in the Devil's workshop;
Then cap it with a huge bonus.

5Because they have no idea how God works
or what he is up to,
God will smash them to smithereens
and walk away from the ruins.

6Blessed be GOD-
he heard me praying.

7He proved he's on my side;
I've thrown my lot in with him.
Now I'm jumping for joy,
and shouting and singing my thanks to him.

8GOD is all strength for his people,
ample refuge for his chosen leader;

9Save your people
and bless your heritage.
Care for them;
carry them like a good shepherd.

2In awe before the glory,
in awe before God's visible power.
Stand at attention!
Dress your best to honor him!

3GOD thunders across the waters,
Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness-GOD, across the flood waters.

4GOD's thunder tympanic,
GOD's thunder symphonic.

5GOD's thunder smashes cedars,
GOD topples the northern cedars.

6The mountain ranges skip like spring colts,
The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.

7GOD's thunder spits fire.

8GOD thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.

9GOD's thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees-we call out, “Glory!”

10Above the floodwaters is GOD's throne
from which his power flows,
from which he rules the world.

11GOD makes his people strong.
GOD gives his people peace.

2GOD, my God, I yelled for help
and you put me together.

3GOD, you pulled me out of the grave,
gave me another chance at life
when I was down-and-out.

4All you saints! Sing your hearts out to GOD!
Thank him to his face!

5He gets angry once in a while, but across
a lifetime there is only love.
The nights of crying your eyes out
give way to days of laughter.

6When things were going great
I crowed, “I've got it made.

7I'm GOD's favorite.
He made me king of the mountain.”
Then you looked the other way
and I fell to pieces.

8I called out to you, GOD;
I laid my case before you:

9“Can you sell me for a profit when I'm dead?
auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?
When I'm ‘dust to dust' my songs
and stories of you won't sell.

10So listen! and be kind!
Help me out of this!”

11You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.

12I'm about to burst with song;
I can't keep quiet about you.
GOD, my God,
I can't thank you enough.

2Get down on my level and listen,
and please-no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
your high cliff aerie a place of safety.

3You're my cave to hide in,
my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
be my true mountain guide.

4Free me from hidden traps;
I want to hide in you.

5I've put my life in your hands.
You won't drop me,
you'll never let me down.

6I hate all this silly religion,
but you, GOD, I trust.

7I'm leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
you saw my pain,
you disarmed my tormentors,

8You didn't leave me in their clutches
but gave me room to breathe.

9Be kind to me, GOD-
I'm in deep, deep trouble again.
I've cried my eyes out;
I feel hollow inside.

10My life leaks away, groan by groan;
my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out,
turned my bones to powder.

11To my enemies I'm a monster;
I'm ridiculed by the neighbors.
My friends are horrified;
they cross the street to avoid me.

12They want to blot me from memory,
forget me like a corpse in a grave,
discard me like a broken dish in the trash.

13The street-talk gossip has me
“criminally insane”!
Behind locked doors they plot
how to ruin me for good.

14Desperate, I throw myself on you:
you are my God!

15Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
safe from the hands out to get me.

16Warm me, your servant, with a smile;
save me because you love me.

17Don't embarrass me by not showing up;
I've given you plenty of notice.
Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,
leave them stupidly shaking their heads
as they drift down to hell.

18Gag those loudmouthed liars
who heckle me, your follower,
with jeers and catcalls.

19What a stack of blessing you have piled up
for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
to escape an unkind world.

20You hide them safely away
from the opposition.
As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
you silence the poisonous gossip.

21Blessed GOD!
His love is the wonder of the world.
Trapped by a siege, 22I panicked.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” I said.
But you heard me say it,
you heard and listened.

23Love GOD, all you saints;
GOD takes care of all who stay close to him,
But he pays back in full
those arrogant enough to go it alone.

24Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up.
Expect GOD to get here soon.

2Count yourself lucky-
GOD holds nothing against you
and you're holding nothing back from him.

3When I kept it all inside,
my bones turned to powder,
my words became daylong groans.

4The pressure never let up;
all the juices of my life dried up.

5Then I let it all out;
I said, “I'll make a clean breast of my failures to GOD.”
Suddenly the pressure was gone-
my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.

6These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
we'll be on high ground, untouched.

7GOD's my island hideaway,
keeps danger far from the shore,
throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8Let me give you some good advice;
I'm looking you in the eye
and giving it to you straight:

9“Don't be ornery like a horse or mule
that needs bit and bridle
to stay on track.”

10God-defiers are always in trouble;
GOD-affirmers find themselves loved
every time they turn around.

11Celebrate GOD.
Sing together-everyone!
All you honest hearts, raise the roof!

2Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!

3Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.

4For GOD's Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.

5He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
in GOD's affectionate satisfaction.

6The skies were made by GOD's command;
he breathed the word and the stars popped out.

7He scooped Sea into his jug,
put Ocean in his keg.

8Earth-creatures, bow before GOD;
world-dwellers-down on your knees!

9Here's why: he spoke and there it was,
in place the moment he said so.

10GOD takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
he shoots down the world's power-schemes.

11GOD's plan for the world stands up,
all his designs are made to last.

12Blessed is the country with GOD for God;
blessed are the people he's put in his will.

13From high in the skies GOD looks around,
he sees all Adam's brood.

14From where he sits
he overlooks all us earth-dwellers.

15He has shaped each person in turn;
now he watches everything we do.

16No king succeeds with a big army alone,
no warrior wins by brute strength.

17Horsepower is not the answer;
no one gets by on muscle alone.

18Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him,
the ones who are looking for his love.

19He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times;
in lean times he keeps body and soul together.

20We're depending on GOD;
he's everything we need.

21What's more, our hearts brim with joy
since we've taken for our own his holy name.

22Love us, GOD, with all you've got-
that's what we're depending on.

2I live and breathe GOD;
if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:

3Join me in spreading the news;
together let's get the word out.

4GOD met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.

5Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.

6When I was desperate, I called out,
and GOD got me out of a tight spot.

7GOD's angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.

8Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see- how good GOD is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

9Worship GOD if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all his goodness.

10Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
but GOD-seekers are full of God.

11Come, children, listen closely;
I'll give you a lesson in GOD worship.

12Who out there has a lust for life?
Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?

13Guard your tongue from profanity,
and no more lying through your teeth.

14Turn your back on sin; do something good.
Embrace peace-don't let it get away!

15GOD keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.

16GOD won't put up with rebels;
he'll cull them from the pack.

17Is anyone crying for help? GOD is listening,
ready to rescue you.

18If your heart is broken, you'll find GOD right there;
if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.

19Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, GOD is there every time.

20He's your bodyguard, shielding every bone;
not even a finger gets broken.

21The wicked commit slow suicide;
they waste their lives hating the good.

22GOD pays for each slave's freedom;
no one who runs to him loses out.

2Grab a weapon, anything at hand;
stand up for me!

3Get ready to throw the spear, aim the javelin,
at the people who are out to get me.
Reassure me; let me hear you say,
“I'll save you.”

4When those thugs try to knife me in the back,
make them look foolish.
Frustrate all those
who are plotting my downfall.

5Make them like cinders in a high wind,
with GOD's angel working the bellows.

6Make their road lightless and mud-slick,
with GOD's angel on their tails.

7Out of sheer cussedness they set a trap to catch me;
for no good reason they dug a ditch to stop me.

8Surprise them with your ambush-
catch them in the very trap they set,
the disaster they planned for me.

9But let me run loose and free,
celebrating GOD's great work,

10Every bone in my body laughing, singing, “GOD,
there's no one like you.
You put the down-and-out on their feet
and protect the unprotected from bullies!”

11Hostile accusers appear out of nowhere,
they stand up and badger me.

12They pay me back misery for mercy,
leaving my soul empty.

13When they were sick, I dressed in black;
instead of eating, I prayed.

14My prayers were like lead in my gut,
like I'd lost my best friend, my brother.
I paced, distraught as a motherless child,
hunched and heavyhearted.

15But when I was down
they threw a party!
All the nameless riffraff of the town came
chanting insults about me.

16Like barbarians desecrating a shrine,
they destroyed my reputation.

17GOD, how long are you going
to stand there doing nothing?
Save me from their brutalities;
everything I've got is being thrown to the lions.

18I will give you full credit
when everyone gathers for worship;
When the people turn out in force
I will say my Hallelujahs.

19Don't let these liars, my enemies,
have a party at my expense,
Those who hate me for no reason,
winking and rolling their eyes.

20No good is going to come
from that crowd;
They spend all their time cooking up gossip
against those who mind their own business.

21They open their mouths
in ugly grins,
Mocking, “Ha-ha, ha-ha, thought you'd get away with it?
We've caught you hands down!”

22Don't you see what they're doing, GOD?
You're not going to let them
Get by with it, are you? Not going to walk off
without doing something, are you?

23Please get up-wake up! Tend to my case.
My God, my Lord-my life is on the line.

24Do what you think is right, GOD, my God,
but don't make me pay for their good time.

25Don't let them say to themselves,
“Ha-ha, we got what we wanted.”
Don't let them say,
“We've chewed him up and spit him out.”

26Let those who are being hilarious
at my expense
Be made to look ridiculous.
Make them wear donkey's ears;
Pin them with the donkey's tail,
who made themselves so high and mighty!

27But those who want
the best for me,
Let them have the last word-a glad shout!-
and say, over and over and over,
“GOD is great-everything works
together for good for his servant.”

28I'll tell the world how great and good you are,
I'll shout Hallelujah all day, every day.

2He has smooth-talked himself
into believing
That his evil
will never be noticed.

3Words gutter from his mouth,
dishwater dirty.
Can't remember when he
did anything decent.

4Every time he goes to bed,
he fathers another evil plot.
When he's loose on the streets,
nobody's safe.
He plays with fire
and doesn't care who gets burned.

5God's love is meteoric,
his loyalty astronomic,

6His purpose titanic,
his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.

7How exquisite your love, O God!
How eager we are to run under your wings,

8To eat our fill at the banquet you spread
as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.

9You're a fountain of cascading light,
and you open our eyes to light.

10Keep on loving your friends;
do your work in welcoming hearts.

11Don't let the bullies kick me around,
the moral midgets slap me down.

12Send the upstarts sprawling
flat on their faces in the mud.

2In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.

3Get insurance with GOD and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.

4Keep company with GOD,
get in on the best.

5Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:

6He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.

7Quiet down before GOD,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.

8Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes-it only makes things worse.

9Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
GOD-investors will soon own the store.

10Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;
you'll stare at his once famous place and-nothing!

11Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,
relishing a huge bonanza.

12Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
obsessed with doing them in.

13But GOD isn't losing any sleep; to him
they're a joke with no punch line.

14Bullies brandish their swords,
pull back on their bows with a flourish.
They're out to beat up on the harmless,
or mug that nice man out walking his dog.

15A banana peel lands them flat on their faces-
slapstick figures in a moral circus.

16Less is more and more is less.
One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,

17For the wicked are moral weaklings
but the righteous are GOD-strong.

18GOD keeps track of the decent folk;
what they do won't soon be forgotten.

19In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;
when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.

20God-despisers have had it;
GOD's enemies are finished-
Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time,
vanished like smoke in thin air.

21Wicked borrows and never returns;
Righteous gives and gives.

22Generous gets it all in the end;
Stingy is cut off at the pass.

23Stalwart walks in step with GOD;
his path blazed by GOD, he's happy.

24If he stumbles, he's not down for long;
GOD has a grip on his hand.

25I once was young, now I'm a graybeard-
not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
or his kids out roaming the streets.

26Every day he's out giving and lending,
his children making him proud.

27Turn your back on evil,
work for the good and don't quit.

28GOD loves this kind of thing,
never turns away from his friends.
Live this way and you've got it made,
but bad eggs will be tossed out.

29The good get planted on good land
and put down healthy roots.

30Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,
rolls virtue around on his tongue.

31His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;
his feet are as sure as a cat's.

32Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,
he's out for the kill.

33GOD, alert, is also on watch-
Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.

34Wait passionately for GOD,
don't leave the path.
He'll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.

35I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
croaking pretentious nonsense.

36The next time I looked there was nothing-
a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.

37Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
scrutinize the straight life;
There's a future
in strenuous wholeness.

38But the willful will soon be discarded;
insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

39The spacious, free life is from GOD,
it's also protected and safe.

40GOD-strengthened, we're delivered from evil-
when we run to him, he saves us.

2Your sharp-pointed arrows of rebuke draw blood;
my backside smarts from your caning.

3I've lost twenty pounds in two months
because of your accusation.
My bones are brittle as dry sticks
because of my sin.

4I'm swamped by my bad behavior,
collapsed under gunnysacks of guilt.

5The cuts in my flesh stink and grow maggots
because I've lived so badly.

6And now I'm flat on my face
feeling sorry for myself morning to night.

7All my insides are on fire,
my body is a wreck.

8I'm on my last legs; I've had it-
my life is a vomit of groans.

9Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,
my groans an old story to you.

10My heart's about to break;
I'm a burned-out case.
Cataracts blind me to God and good;

11old friends avoid me like the plague.
My cousins never visit,
my neighbors stab me in the back.

12My competitors blacken my name,
devoutly they pray for my ruin.

13But I'm deaf and mute to it all,
ears shut, mouth shut.

14I don't hear a word they say,
don't speak a word in response.

15What I do, GOD, is wait for you,
wait for my Lord, my God-you will answer!

16I wait and pray so they won't laugh me off,
won't smugly strut off when I stumble.

17I'm on the edge of losing it-
the pain in my gut keeps burning.

18I'm ready to tell my story of failure,
I'm no longer smug in my sin.

19My enemies are alive and in action,
a lynch mob after my neck.

20I give out good and get back evil
from God-haters who can't stand a God-lover.

21Don't dump me, GOD;
my God, don't stand me up.

22Hurry and help me;
I want some wide-open space in my life!

2“Mum's the word,” I said, and kept quiet.
But the longer I kept silence
The worse it got-

3my insides got hotter and hotter.
My thoughts boiled over;
I spilled my guts.

4“Tell me, what's going on, GOD?
How long do I have to live?
Give me the bad news!

5You've kept me on pretty short rations;
my life is string too short to be saved.

6Oh! we're all puffs of air.
Oh! we're all shadows in a campfire.
Oh! we're just spit in the wind.
We make our pile, and then we leave it.

7“What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?
Hoping, that's what I'm doing-hoping

8You'll save me from a rebel life,
save me from the contempt of dunces.

9I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth,
since you, Lord, are behind all this.

10But I can't take it much longer.
When you put us through the fire

11to purge us from our sin,
our dearest idols go up in smoke.
Are we also nothing but smoke?

12“Ah, GOD, listen to my prayer, my
cry-open your ears.
Don't be callous;
just look at these tears of mine.
I'm a stranger here. I don't know my way-
a migrant like my whole family.

13Give me a break, cut me some slack
before it's too late and I'm out of here.”

2He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.

3He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to GOD.

4Blessed are you who give yourselves over to GOD,
turn your backs on the world's “sure thing,”
ignore what the world worships;

5The world's a huge stockpile
of GOD-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.

6Doing something for you, bringing something to you-
that's not what you're after.
Being religious, acting pious-
that's not what you're asking for.
You've opened my ears
so I can listen.

7So I answered, “I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,

8And I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me.”
That's when God's Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.

9I've preached you to the whole congregation,
I've kept back nothing, GOD-you know that.

10I didn't keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn't keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.

11Now GOD, don't hold out on me,
don't hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.

12When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn't see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13Soften up, GOD, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,

14So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,

15So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16But all who are hunting for you-
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you're all about
tell the world you're great and not quitting.

17And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you've got what it takes-
but God, don't put it off.

2GOD looks after us all,
makes us robust with life-
Lucky to be in the land,
we're free from enemy worries.

3Whenever we're sick and in bed,
GOD becomes our nurse,
nurses us back to health.

4I said, “GOD, be gracious!
Put me together again-
my sins have torn me to pieces.”

5My enemies are wishing the worst for me;
they make bets on what day I will die.

6If someone comes to see me,
he mouths empty platitudes,
All the while gathering gossip about me
to entertain the street-corner crowd.

7These “friends” who hate me
whisper slanders all over town.
They form committees
to plan misery for me.

8The rumor goes out, “He's got some dirty,
deadly disease. The doctors
have given up on him.”

9Even my best friend, the one I always told everything
-he ate meals at my house all the time!-
has bitten my hand.

10GOD, give grace, get me up on my feet.
I'll show them a thing or two.

11Meanwhile, I'm sure you're on my side-
no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp!

12You know me inside and out, you hold me together,
you never fail to stand me tall in your presence
so I can look you in the eye.

13Blessed is GOD, Israel's God,
always, always, always.
Yes. Yes. Yes.

2I'm thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it-
arrive and drink in God's presence?”

3I'm on a diet of tears-
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
“Where is this God of yours?”

4These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving-
celebrating, all of us, God's feast!

5Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God-
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

6When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.

7Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.

8Then GOD promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.

9Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
“Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?”

10They're out for the kill, these
tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
“Where is this God of yours?”

11Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God-
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

2I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?

3Give me your lantern and compass,
give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
to the place of your presence,

4To enter the place of worship,
meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
magnificent God, my God.

5Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God-
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

2How single-handedly you weeded out the godless
from the fields and planted us,
How you sent those people packing
but gave us a fresh start.

3We didn't fight for this land;
we didn't work for it-it was a gift!
You gave it, smiling as you gave it,
delighting as you gave it.

4You're my King, O God-
command victories for Jacob!

5With your help we'll wipe out our enemies,
in your name we'll stomp them to dust.

6I don't trust in weapons;
my sword won't save me-

7But it's you, you who saved us from the enemy;
you made those who hate us lose face.

8All day we parade God's praise-
we thank you by name over and over.

9But now you've walked off and left us,
you've disgraced us and won't fight for us.

10You made us turn tail and run;
those who hate us have cleaned us out.

11You delivered us as sheep to the butcher,
you scattered us to the four winds.

12You sold your people at a discount-
you made nothing on the sale.

13You made people on the street,
urchins, poke fun and call us names.

14You made us a joke among the godless,
a cheap joke among the rabble.

15Every day I'm up against it,
my nose rubbed in my shame-

16Gossip and ridicule fill the air,
people out to get me crowd the street.

17All this came down on us,
and we've done nothing to deserve it.
We never betrayed your Covenant: 18our hearts
were never false, our feet never left your path.

19Do we deserve torture in a den of jackals?
or lockup in a black hole?

20If we had forgotten to pray to our God
or made fools of ourselves with store-bought gods,

21Wouldn't God have figured this out?
We can't hide things from him.

22No, you decided to make us martyrs,
lambs assigned for sacrifice each day.

23Get up, GOD! Are you going to sleep all day?
Wake up! Don't you care what happens to us?

24Why do you bury your face in the pillow?
Why pretend things are just fine with us?

25And here we are-flat on our faces in the dirt,
held down with a boot on our necks.

26Get up and come to our rescue.
If you love us so much, Help us!

2“You're the handsomest of men;
every word from your lips is sheer grace,
and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.

3Strap your sword to your side, warrior!
Accept praise! Accept due honor!
Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!

4Ride on the side of truth!
Ride for the righteous meek!
“Your instructions are glow-in-the-dark;

5you shoot sharp arrows
Into enemy hearts; the king's
foes lie down in the dust, beaten.

6“Your throne is God's throne,
ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
measures right living.

7You love the right
and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
from among your dear companions.

8“Your ozone-drenched garments
are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music-from the throne room-
makes you want to dance.

9Kings' daughters are maids in your court,
the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.

10“Now listen, daughter, don't miss a word:
forget your country, put your home behind you.

11Be here-the king is wild for you.
Since he's your lord, adore him.

12Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre;
rich guests shower you with presents.”

13(Her wedding dress is dazzling,
lined with gold by the weavers;

14All her dresses and robes
are woven with gold.
She is led to the king,
followed by her virgin companions.

15A procession of joy and laughter!
a grand entrance to the king's palace!)

16“Set your mind now on sons-
don't dote on father and grandfather.
You'll set your sons up as princes
all over the earth.

17I'll make you famous for generations;
you'll be the talk of the town
for a long, long time.”

2We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,

3Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
GOD of angel armies protects us.

4River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city,
this sacred haunt of the Most High.

5God lives here, the streets are safe,
God at your service from crack of dawn.

6Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
but Earth does anything he says.

7Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
GOD of angel armies protects us.

8Attention, all! See the marvels of GOD!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,

9Bans war from pole to pole,
breaks all the weapons across his knee.

10“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”

11Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
GOD of angel armies protects us.

2GOD Most High is stunning,
astride land and ocean.

3He crushes hostile people,
puts nations at our feet.

4He set us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.

5Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
a ram's horn blast at the summit.

6Sing songs to God, sing out!
Sing to our King, sing praise!

7He's Lord over earth,
so sing your best songs to God.

8God is Lord of godless nations-
sovereign, he's King of the mountain.

9Princes from all over are gathered,
people of Abraham's God.
The powers of earth are God's-
he soars over all.

2breathtaking in its heights-earth's joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.

3God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.

4The kings got together,
they united and came.

5They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.

6They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.

7You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.

8We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes-
In GOD's city of angel armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.

9We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:

10Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.

11Be glad, Zion Mountain;
Dance, Judah's daughters!
He does what he said he'd do!

12Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,

13Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights-
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,

14Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.

2All you haves
and have-nots,
All together now: listen.

3I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
my heart-seasoned understandings of life.

4I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

5So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed in by enemy malice,

6Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned by the arrogant rich?

7Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue,
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

8The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even then it doesn't guarantee

9Life forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.

10Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
wiped out right along with fools and dunces.

11They leave all their prowess behind,
move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
And to think they named counties after themselves!

12We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

13This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:

14Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing-
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.

15But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.

16So don't be impressed with those who get rich
and pile up fame and fortune.

17They can't take it with them;
fame and fortune all get left behind.

18Just when they think they've arrived
and folks praise them because they've made good,

19They enter the family burial plot
where they'll never see sunshine again.

20We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

2From the dazzle of Zion,
God blazes into view.

3Our God makes his entrance,
he's not shy in his coming.
Starbursts of fireworks precede him.

4He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
he's taking his people to court:

5“Round up my saints who swore
on the Bible their loyalty to me.”

6The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
that here God is judge.

7“Are you listening, dear people? I'm getting ready to speak;
Israel, I'm about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.

8I don't find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.

9But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?

10Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.

11I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.

12If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.

13Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats' blood?

14Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,

15And call for help when you're in trouble-
I'll help you, and you'll honor me.”

16Next, God calls up the wicked:
“What are you up to, quoting my laws,
talking like we are good friends?

17You never answer the door when I call;
you treat my words like garbage.

18If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
adulterers are your friends of choice.

19Your mouth drools filth;
lying is a serious art form with you.

20You stab your own brother in the back,
rip off your little sister.

21I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
you thought I went along with your game.
I'm calling you on the carpet, now,
laying your wickedness out in plain sight.

22“Time's up for playing fast and
loose with me.
I'm ready to pass sentence,
and there's no help in sight!

23It's the praising life that honors me.
As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
I'll show you my salvation.”

2Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.

3I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.

4You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.

5I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.

6What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

8Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.

9Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.

10God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

11Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.

12Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!

13Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.

14Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

15Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

16Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.

17I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.

18Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.

19Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!

2You scheme catastrophe;
your tongue cuts razor-sharp,
artisan in lies.

3You love evil more than good,
you call black white.

4You love malicious gossip,
you foul-mouth.

5God will tear you limb from limb,
sweep you up and throw you out,
Pull you up by the roots
from the land of life.

6Good people will watch and
worship. They'll laugh in relief:

7“Big Man bet on the wrong horse,
trusted in big money,
made his living from catastrophe.”

8And I'm an olive tree,
growing green in God's house.
I trusted in the generous mercy
of God then and now.

9I thank you always
that you went into action.
And I'll stay right here,
your good name my hope,
in company with your faithful friends.

2God sticks his head out of heaven.
He looks around.
He's looking for someone not stupid-
one man, even, God-expectant,
just one God-ready woman.

3He comes up empty. A string
of zeros. Useless, unshepherded
Sheep, taking turns pretending
to be Shepherd.
The ninety and nine
follow the one.

4Don't they know anything,
all these impostors?
Don't they know
they can't get away with this,
Treating people like a fast-food meal
over which they're too busy to pray?

5Night is coming for them, and nightmare-
a nightmare they'll never wake up from.
God will make hash of these squatters,
send them packing for good.

6Is there anyone around to save Israel?
God turns life around.
Turned-around Jacob skips rope,
turned-around Israel sings laughter.

2Listen, God-I'm desperate.
Don't be too busy to hear me.

3Outlaws are out to get me,
hit men are trying to kill me.
Nothing will stop them;
God means nothing to them.

4Oh, look! God's right here helping!
GOD's on my side,

5Evil is looping back on my enemies.
Don't let up! Finish them off!

6I'm ready now to worship, so ready.
I thank you, GOD-you're so good.

7You got me out of every scrape,
and I saw my enemies get it.

2Come close and whisper your answer.
I really need you.
I shudder 3at the mean voice,
quail before the evil eye,
As they pile on the guilt,
stockpile angry slander.

4My insides are turned inside out;
specters of death have me down.

5I shake with fear,
I shudder from head to foot.

6“Who will give me wings,” I ask-
“wings like a dove?”
Get me out of here on dove wings;

7I want some peace and quiet.
I want a walk in the country,

8I want a cabin in the woods.
I'm desperate for a change
from rage and stormy weather.

9Come down hard, Lord-slit their tongues.
I'm appalled how they've split the city
Into rival gangs
prowling the alleys

10Day and night spoiling for a fight,
trash piled in the streets,

11Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating
in broad daylight.

12This isn't the neighborhood bully
mocking me-I could take that.
This isn't a foreign devil spitting
invective-I could tune that out.

13It's you! We grew up together!
You! My best friend!

14Those long hours of leisure as we walked
arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.

15Haul my betrayers off alive to hell-let them
experience the horror, let them
feel every desolate detail of a damned life.

16I call to God;
GOD will help me.

17At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh
deep sighs-he hears, he rescues.

18My life is well and whole, secure
in the middle of danger
Even while thousands
are lined up against me.

19God hears it all, and from his judge's bench
puts them in their place.
But, set in their ways, they won't change;
they pay him no mind.

20And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends;
his life betrayed his word.

21All my life I've been charmed by his speech,
never dreaming he'd turn on me.
His words, which were music to my ears,
turned to daggers in my heart.

22Pile your troubles on GOD's shoulders-
he'll carry your load, he'll help you out.
He'll never let good people
topple into ruin.

23But you, God, will throw the others
into a muddy bog,
Cut the lifespan of assassins
and traitors in half.
And I trust in you.

2Not a day goes by
but somebody beats me up;
They make it their duty
to beat me up.

3When I get really afraid
I come to you in trust.

4I'm proud to praise God;
fearless now, I trust in God.
What can mere mortals do?

5They don't let up-
they smear my reputation
and huddle to plot my collapse.

6They gang up,
sneak together through the alleys
To take me by surprise,
wait their chance to get me.

7Pay them back in evil!
Get angry, God!
Down with these people!

8You've kept track of my every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book.

9If my enemies run away,
turn tail when I yell at them,
Then I'll know
that God is on my side.

10I'm proud to praise God,
proud to praise GOD.

11Fearless now, I trust in God;
what can mere mortals do to me?

12God, you did everything you promised,
and I'm thanking you with all my heart.

13You pulled me from the brink of death,
my feet from the cliff-edge of doom.
Now I stroll at leisure with God
in the sunlit fields of life.

2I call out to High God,
the God who holds me together.

3He sends orders from heaven and saves me,
he humiliates those who kick me around.
God delivers generous love,
he makes good on his word.

4I find myself in a pride of lions
who are wild for a taste of human flesh;
Their teeth are lances and arrows,
their tongues are sharp daggers.

5Soar high in the skies, O God!
Cover the whole earth with your glory!

6They booby trapped my path;
I thought I was dead and done for.
They dug a mantrap to catch me,
and fell in headlong themselves.

7I'm ready, God, so ready,
ready from head to toe,
Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:

8“Wake up, soul!
Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!
Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

9I'm thanking you, GOD, out loud in the streets,
singing your praises in town and country.

10The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

11Soar high in the skies, O God!
Cover the whole earth with your glory!

2Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil,
behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

3The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;
their first words out of the womb are lies.

4Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,
drips from their forked tongues-

5Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,
decades of wax built up in their ears.

6God, smash their teeth to bits,
leave them toothless tigers.

7Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,
all that's left, a damp stain in the sand.
Let them be trampled grass
worn smooth by the traffic.

8Let them dissolve into snail slime,
be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.

9Before what they cook up is half-done, God,
throw it out with the garbage!

10The righteous will call up their friends
when they see the wicked get their reward,
Serve up their blood in goblets
as they toast one another,

11Everyone cheering, “It's worth it to play by the rules!
God's handing out trophies and tending the earth!”

2Rescue me from their dirty tricks,
save me from their hit men.

3Desperadoes have ganged up on me,
they're hiding in ambush for me.
I did nothing to deserve this, GOD,

4crossed no one, wronged no one.
All the same, they're after me,
determined to get me.
Wake up and see for yourself! 5You're GOD,
God of angel armies, Israel's God!
Get on the job and take care of these pagans,
don't be soft on these hard cases.

6They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.

7Then suddenly they're all at the gate,
Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.
They think they'll never get caught.

8But you, GOD, break out laughing;
you treat the godless nations like jokes.

9Strong God, I'm watching you do it,
I can always count on you.

10God in dependable love shows up on time,
shows me my enemies in ruin.

11Don't make quick work of them, GOD,
lest my people forget.
Bring them down in slow motion,
take them apart piece by piece.

12Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance
catch up with them,
Catch them out and bring them down
-every muttered curse
-every barefaced lie.

13Finish them off in fine style!
Finish them off for good!
Then all the world will see
that God rules well in Jacob,
everywhere that God's in charge.

14They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.

15They scavenge for bones,
And bite the hand that feeds them.

16And me? I'm singing your prowess,
shouting at cockcrow your largesse,
For you've been a safe place for me,
a good place to hide.

17Strong God, I'm watching you do it,
I can always count on you-
God, my dependable love.

2You shook earth to the foundations,
ripped open huge crevasses.
Heal the breaks! Everything's
coming apart at the seams.

3You made your people look doom in the face,
then gave us cheap wine to drown our troubles.

4Then you planted a flag to rally your people,
an unfurled flag to look to for courage.

5Now do something quickly, answer right now,
so the one you love best is saved.

6That's when God spoke in holy splendor,
“Bursting with joy,
I make a present of Shechem,
I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.

7Gilead's in my pocket,
to say nothing of Manasseh.
Ephraim's my hard hat,
Judah my hammer;

8Moab's a scrub bucket,
I mop the floor with Moab,
Spit on Edom,
rain fireworks all over Philistia.”

9Who will take me to the thick of the fight?
Who'll show me the road to Edom?

10You aren't giving up on us, are you, God?
refusing to go out with our troops?

11Give us help for the hard task;
human help is worthless.

12In God we'll do our very best;
he'll flatten the opposition for good.

2When I'm far from anywhere,
down to my last gasp,
I call out, “Guide me
up High Rock Mountain!”

3You've always given me breathing room,
a place to get away from it all,

4A lifetime pass to your safe-house,
an open invitation as your guest.

5You've always taken me seriously, God,
made me welcome among those who know and love you.

6Let the days of the king add up
to years and years of good rule.

7Set his throne in the full light of God;
post Steady Love and Good Faith as lookouts,

8And I'll be the poet who sings your glory-
and live what I sing every day.

2He's solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I'm set for life.

3How long will you gang up on me?
How long will you run with the bullies?
There's nothing to you, any of you-
rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters,

4Anthills plotting to bring down mountains,
far gone in make-believe.
You talk a good line,
but every “blessing” breathes a curse.

5God, the one and only-
I'll wait as long as he says.
Everything I hope for comes from him,
so why not?

6He's solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I'm set for life.

7My help and glory are in God
-granite-strength and safe-harbor-God-8So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.

9Man as such is smoke,
woman as such, a mirage.
Put them together, they're nothing;
two times nothing is nothing.

10And a windfall, if it comes-
don't make too much of it.

11God said this once and for all;
how many times
Have I heard it repeated?
“Strength comes
Straight from God.”

12Love to you, Lord God!
You pay a fair wage for a good day's work!

2So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.

3In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.

4I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

5I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!

6If I'm sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.

7Because you've always stood up for me,
I'm free to run and play.

8I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.

9Those who are out to get me are marked for doom,
marked for death, bound for hell.

10They'll die violent deaths;
jackals will tear them limb from limb.

11But the king is glad in God;
his true friends spread the joy,
While small-minded gossips
are gagged for good.

2Don't let them find me-
the conspirators out to get me,

3Using their tongues as weapons,
flinging poison words,
poison-tipped arrow-words.

4They shoot from ambush,
shoot without warning,
not caring who they hit.

5They keep fit doing calisthenics
of evil purpose,
They keep lists of the traps
they've secretly set.
They say to each other,
“No one can catch us,

6no one can detect our perfect crime.”
The Detective detects the mystery
in the dark of the cellar heart.

7The God of the Arrow shoots!
They double up in pain,

8Fall flat on their faces
in full view of the grinning crowd.

9Everyone sees it. God's
work is the talk of the town.

10Be glad, good people! Fly to GOD!
Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.

2You hear the prayer in it all.
We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
or later, loaded with guilt,

3Our sins too much for us-
but you get rid of them once and for all.

4Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest
at home in your place!
We expect our fill of good things
in your house, your heavenly manse.

5All your salvation wonders
are on display in your trophy room.
Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,

6Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser,

7Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash,
of mobs in noisy riot-

8Far and wide they'll come to a stop,
they'll stare in awe, in wonder.
Dawn and dusk take turns
calling, “Come and worship.”

9Oh, visit the earth,
ask her to join the dance!
Deck her out in spring showers,
fill the God-River with living water.
Paint the wheat fields golden.
Creation was made for this!

10Drench the plowed fields,
soak the dirt clods
With rainfall as harrow and rake
bring her to blossom and fruit.

11Snow-crown the peaks with splendor,
scatter rose petals down your paths,

12All through the wild meadows, rose petals.
Set the hills to dancing,

13Dress the canyon walls with live sheep,
a drape of flax across the valleys.
Let them shout, and shout, and shout!
Oh, oh, let them sing!

2Sing songs to the tune of his glory,
set glory to the rhythms of his praise.

3Say of God, “We've never seen anything like him!”
When your enemies see you in action,
they slink off like scolded dogs.

4The whole earth falls to its knees-
it worships you, sings to you,
can't stop enjoying your name and fame.

5Take a good look at God's wonders-
they'll take your breath away.

6He converted sea to dry land;
travelers crossed the river on foot.
Now isn't that cause for a song?

7Ever sovereign in his high tower, he keeps
his eye on the godless nations.
Rebels don't dare
raise a finger against him.

8Bless our God, O peoples!
Give him a thunderous welcome!

9Didn't he set us on the road to life?
Didn't he keep us out of the ditch?

10He trained us first,
passed us like silver through refining fires,

11Brought us into hardscrabble country,
pushed us to our very limit,

12Road-tested us inside and out,
took us to hell and back;
Finally he brought us
to this well-watered place.

13I'm bringing my prizes and presents to your house.
I'm doing what I said I'd do,

14What I solemnly swore I'd do
that day when I was in so much trouble:

15The choicest cuts of meat
for the sacrificial meal;
Even the fragrance
of roasted lamb is like a meal!
Or make it an ox
garnished with goat meat!

16All believers, come here and listen,
let me tell you what God did for me.

17I called out to him with my mouth,
my tongue shaped the sounds of music.

18If I had been cozy with evil,
the Lord would never have listened.

19But he most surely did listen,
he came on the double when he heard my prayer.

20Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear,
he stayed with me, loyal in his love.

2The whole country will see how you work,
all the godless nations see how you save.

3God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.

4Let all far-flung people become happy
and shout their happiness because
You judge them fair and square,
you tend the far-flung peoples.

5God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.

6Earth, display your exuberance!
You mark us with blessing, O God, our God.

7You mark us with blessing, O God.
Earth's four corners-honor him!

2Gone like a puff of smoke,
like a blob of wax in the fire-
one look at God and the wicked vanish.

3When the righteous see God in action
they'll laugh, they'll sing,
they'll laugh and sing for joy.

4Sing hymns to God;
all heaven, sing out;
clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
Enjoy GOD,
cheer when you see him!

5Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.

6God makes homes for the homeless,
leads prisoners to freedom,
but leaves rebels to rot in hell.

7God, when you took the lead with your people,
when you marched out into the wild,

8Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat;
God was on the march.
Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move,
at the sight of Israel's God.

9You pour out rain in buckets, O God;
thorn and cactus become an oasis

10For your people to camp in and enjoy.
You set them up in business;
they went from rags to riches.

11The Lord gave the word;
thousands called out the good news:

12“Kings of the armies
are on the run, on the run!”

13While housewives, safe and sound back home,
divide up the plunder,
the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold.

14On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings,
snow fell on Black Mountain.

15You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.

16All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
he'll rule from this mountain forever.

17The chariots of God, twice ten thousand,
and thousands more besides,
The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai-
straight to the Holy Place!

18You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow,
your arms full of booty from rebels,
And now you sit there in state,
GOD, sovereign GOD!

19Blessed be the Lord-
day after day he carries us along.

20He's our Savior, our God, oh yes!
He's God-for-us, he's God-who-saves-us.
Lord GOD knows all
death's ins and outs.

21What's more, he made heads roll,
split the skulls of the enemy
As he marched out of heaven,

22saying, “I tied up the Dragon in knots,
put a muzzle on the Deep Blue Sea.”

23You can wade through your enemies' blood,
and your dogs taste of your enemies from your boots.

24See God on parade
to the sanctuary, my God,
my King on the march!

25Singers out front, the band behind,
maidens in the middle with castanets.

26The whole choir blesses God.
Like a fountain of praise, Israel blesses GOD.

27Look-little Benjamin's out
front and leading
Princes of Judah in their royal robes,
princes of Zebulon, princes of Naphtali.

28Parade your power, O God,
the power, O God, that made us what we are.

29Your temple, High God, is Jerusalem;
kings bring gifts to you.

30Rebuke that old crocodile, Egypt,
with her herd of wild bulls and calves,
Rapacious in her lust for silver,
crushing peoples, spoiling for a fight.

31Let Egyptian traders bring blue cloth
and Cush come running to God, her hands outstretched.

32Sing, O kings of the earth!
Sing praises to the Lord!

33There he is: Sky-Rider,
striding the ancient skies.
Listen-he's calling in thunder,
rumbling, rolling thunder.

34Call out “Bravo!” to God,
the High God of Israel.
His splendor and strength
rise huge as thunderheads.

35A terrible beauty, O God,
streams from your sanctuary.
It's Israel's strong God! He gives
power and might to his people!
O you, his people-bless God!

2Quicksand under me, swamp water over me;
I'm going down for the third time.

3I'm hoarse from calling for help,
Bleary-eyed from searching the sky for God.

4I've got more enemies than hairs on my head;
Sneaks and liars are out to knife me in the back.
What I never stole
Must I now give back?

5God, you know every sin I've committed;
My life's a wide-open book before you.

6Don't let those who look to you in hope
Be discouraged by what happens to me,
Dear Lord! GOD of the armies!
Don't let those out looking for you
Come to a dead end by following me-
Please, dear God of Israel!

7Because of you I look like an idiot,
I walk around ashamed to show my face.

8My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
My family treats me like an unwanted guest.

9I love you more than I can say.
Because I'm madly in love with you,
They blame me for everything they dislike about you.

10When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting,
All it got me was more contempt.

11When I put on a sad face,
They treated me like a clown.

12Now drunks and gluttons
Make up drinking songs about me.

13And me? I pray.
GOD, it's time for a break!
God, answer in love!
Answer with your sure salvation!

14Rescue me from the swamp,
Don't let me go under for good,
Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy;
This whirlpool is sucking me down.

15Don't let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole
Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me.

16Now answer me, GOD, because you love me;
Let me see your great mercy full-face.

17Don't look the other way; your servant can't take it.
I'm in trouble. Answer right now!

18Come close, God; get me out of here.
Rescue me from this deathtrap.

19You know how they kick me around-
Pin on me the donkey's ears, the dunce's cap.

20I'm broken by their taunts,
Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
I couldn't find one shoulder to cry on.

21They put poison in my soup,
Vinegar in my drink.

22Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
May their best friends be trappers who'll skin them alive.

23Make them become blind as bats,
Give them the shakes from morning to night.

24Let them know what you think of them,
Blast them with your red-hot anger.

25Burn down their houses,
Leave them desolate with nobody at home.

26They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.

27Pile on the guilt,
Don't let them off the hook.

28Strike their names from the list of the living;
No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

29I'm hurt and in pain;
Give me space for healing, and mountain air.

30Let me shout God's name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

31For GOD, this is better than oxen on the altar,
Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.

32The poor in spirit see and are glad-
Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

33For GOD listens to the poor,
He doesn't walk out on the wretched.

34You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

35For God is out to help Zion,
Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
Guess who will live there-
The proud owners of the land?

36No, the children of his servants will get it,
The lovers of his name will live in it.

2Those who are out to get me-
let them fall all over themselves.
Those who relish my downfall-
send them down a blind alley.

3Give them a taste of their own medicine,
those gossips off clucking their tongues.

4Let those on the hunt for you
sing and celebrate.
Let all who love your saving way
say over and over, “God is mighty!”

5But I've lost it. I'm wasted.
God-quickly, quickly!
Quick to my side, quick to my rescue!
GOD, don't lose a minute.

2Do what you do so well:
get me out of this mess and up on my feet.
Put your ear to the ground and listen,
give me space for salvation.

3Be a guest room where I can retreat;
you said your door was always open!
You're my salvation-my vast, granite fortress.

4My God, free me from the grip of Wicked,
from the clutch of Bad and Bully.

5You keep me going when times are tough-
my bedrock, GOD, since my childhood.

6I've hung on you from the day of my birth,
the day you took me from the cradle;
I'll never run out of praise.

7Many gasp in alarm when they see me,
but you take me in stride.

8Just as each day brims with your beauty,
my mouth brims with praise.

9But don't turn me out to pasture when I'm old
or put me on the shelf when I can't pull my weight.

10My enemies are talking behind my back,
watching for their chance to knife me.

11The gossip is: “God has abandoned him.
Pounce on him now; no one will help him.”

12God, don't just watch from the sidelines.
Come on! Run to my side!

13My accusers-make them lose face.
Those out to get me-make them look
Like idiots, 14while I stretch out, reaching for you,
and daily add praise to praise.

15I'll write the book on your righteousness,
talk up your salvation the livelong day,
never run out of good things to write or say.

16I come in the power of the Lord GOD,
I post signs marking his right-of-way.

17You got me when I was an unformed youth,
God, and taught me everything I know.
Now I'm telling the world your wonders;

18I'll keep at it until I'm old and gray.
God, don't walk off and leave me
until I get out the news
Of your strong right arm to this world,
news of your power to the world yet to come,

19Your famous and righteous
ways, O God.
God, you've done it all!
Who is quite like you?

20You, who made me stare trouble in the face,
Turn me around;
Now let me look life in the face.
I've been to the bottom;
Bring me up, 21streaming with honors;
turn to me, be tender to me,

22And I'll take up the lute and thank you
to the tune of your faithfulness, God.
I'll make music for you on a harp,
Holy One of Israel.

23When I open up in song to you,
I let out lungsful of praise,
my rescued life a song.

24All day long I'm chanting
about you and your righteous ways,
While those who tried to do me in
slink off looking ashamed.

2May he judge your people rightly,
be honorable to your meek and lowly.

3Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
shape the hills with the contours of right living.

4Please stand up for the poor,
help the children of the needy,
come down hard on the cruel tyrants.

5Outlast the sun, outlive the moon-
age after age after age.

6Be rainfall on cut grass,
earth-refreshing rain showers.

7Let righteousness burst into blossom
and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.

8Rule from sea to sea,
from the River to the Rim.

9Foes will fall on their knees before God,
his enemies lick the dust.

10Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.

11All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him,

12Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
the destitute who have run out of luck.

13He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth.

14He frees them from tyranny and torture-
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies.

15And live! Oh, let him live!
Deck him out in Sheba gold.
Offer prayers unceasing to him,
bless him from morning to night.

16Fields of golden grain in the land,
cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,
Cornucopias of praise, praises
springing from the city like grass from the earth.

17May he never be forgotten,
his fame shine on like sunshine.
May all godless people enter his circle of blessing
and bless the One who blessed them.

18Blessed GOD, Israel's God,
the one and only wonder-working God!

19Blessed always his blazing glory!
All earth brims with his glory.

20Yes and Yes and Yes.

2But I nearly missed it,
missed seeing his goodness.

3I was looking the other way,
looking up to the people

4At the top,
envying the wicked who have it made,

5Who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.

6Pretentious with arrogance,
they wear the latest fashions in violence,

7Pampered and overfed,
decked out in silk bows of silliness.

8They jeer, using words to kill;
they bully their way with words.

9They're full of hot air,
loudmouths disturbing the peace.

10People actually listen to them-can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

11What's going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody's tending the store.

12The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches

13I've been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me?

14A long run of bad luck, that's what-
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

15If I'd have given in and talked like this,
I would have betrayed your dear children.

16Still, when I tried to figure it out,
all I got was a splitting headache . . .

17Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw the whole picture:

18The slippery road you've put them on,
with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.

19In the blink of an eye, disaster!
A blind curve in the dark, and-nightmare!

20We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing.
There's nothing to them. And there never was.

21When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,

22I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very presence.

23I'm still in your presence,
but you've taken my hand.

24You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me.

25You're all I want in heaven!
You're all I want on earth!

26When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
GOD is rock-firm and faithful.

27Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
Deserters, they'll never be heard from again.

28But I'm in the very presence of God-
oh, how refreshing it is!
I've made Lord GOD my home.
God, I'm telling the world what you do!

2Refresh your memory of us-you bought us a long time ago.
Your most precious tribe-you paid a good price for us!
Your very own Mount Zion-you actually lived here once!

3Come and visit the site of disaster,
see how they've wrecked the sanctuary.

4While your people were at worship, your enemies barged in,
brawling and scrawling graffiti.

5They set fire to the porch;
axes swinging, they chopped up the woodwork,

6Beat down the doors with sledgehammers,
then split them into kindling.

7They burned your holy place to the ground,
violated the place of worship.

8They said to themselves, “We'll wipe them all out,”
and burned down all the places of worship.

9There's not a sign or symbol of God in sight,
nor anyone to speak in his name,
no one who knows what's going on.

10How long, God, will barbarians blaspheme,
enemies curse and get by with it?

11Why don't you do something? How long are you going
to sit there with your hands folded in your lap?

12God is my King from the very start;
he works salvation in the womb of the earth.

13With one blow you split the sea in two,
you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.

14You lopped off the heads of Leviathan,
then served them up in a stew for the animals.

15With your finger you opened up springs and creeks,
and dried up the wild floodwaters.

16You own the day, you own the night;
you put stars and sun in place.

17You laid out the four corners of earth,
shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

18Mark and remember, GOD, all the enemy
taunts, each idiot desecration.

19Don't throw your lambs to the wolves;
after all we've been through, don't forget us.

20Remember your promises;
the city is in darkness, the countryside violent.

21Don't leave the victims to rot in the street;
make them a choir that sings your praises.

22On your feet, O God-
stand up for yourself!
Do you hear what they're saying about you,
all the vile obscenities?

23Don't tune out their malicious filth,
the brawling invective that never lets up.

2You say, “I'm calling this meeting to order,
I'm ready to set things right.

3When the earth goes topsy-turvy
And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
I put everything in place again.

4I say to the smart alecks, ‘That's enough,’
to the bullies, ‘Not so fast.’”

5Don't raise your fist against High God.
Don't raise your voice against Rock of Ages.

6He's the One from east to west;
from desert to mountains, he's the One.

7God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,
pulls that one up on her feet.

8GOD has a cup in his hand,
a bowl of wine, full to the brim.
He draws from it and pours;
it's drained to the dregs.
Earth's wicked ones drink it all,
drink it down to the last bitter drop!

9And I'm telling the story of God Eternal,
singing the praises of Jacob's God.

10The fists of the wicked
are bloody stumps,
The arms of the righteous
are lofty green branches.

2He keeps a house in Salem,
his own suite of rooms in Zion.

3That's where, using arrows for kindling,
he made a bonfire of weapons of war.

4Oh, how bright you shine!
Outshining their huge piles of loot!

5The warriors were plundered
and left there impotent.
And now there's nothing to them,
nothing to show for their swagger and threats.

6Your sudden roar, God of Jacob,
knocked the wind out of horse and rider.

7Fierce you are, and fearsome!
Who can stand up to your rising anger?

8From heaven you thunder judgment;
earth falls to her knees and holds her breath.

9God stands tall and makes things right,
he saves all the wretched on earth.

10Instead of smoldering rage-God-praise!
All that sputtering rage-now a garland for God!

11Do for GOD what you said you'd do-
he is, after all, your God.
Let everyone in town bring offerings
to the One Who Watches our every move.

12Nobody gets by with anything,
no one plays fast and loose with him.

2I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal.
When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,”
I didn't believe a word they said.

3I remember God-and shake my head.
I bow my head-then wring my hands.

4I'm awake all night-not a wink of sleep;
I can't even say what's bothering me.

5I go over the days one by one,
I ponder the years gone by.

6I strum my lute all through the night,
wondering how to get my life together.

7Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?
Will he never smile again?

8Is his love worn threadbare?
Has his salvation promise burned out?

9Has God forgotten his manners?
Has he angrily stalked off and left us?

10“Just my luck,” I said. “The High God goes out of business
just the moment I need him.”

16Ocean saw you in action, God,
saw you and trembled with fear;
Deep Ocean was scared to death.

17Clouds belched buckets of rain,
Sky exploded with thunder,
your arrows flashing this way and that.

18From Whirlwind came your thundering voice,
Lightning exposed the world,
Earth reeled and rocked.

19You strode right through Ocean,
walked straight through roaring Ocean,
but nobody saw you come or go.

20Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron,
You led your people like a flock of sheep.

2I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb;
I'll let you in on the sweet old truths,

3Stories we heard from our fathers,
counsel we learned at our mother's knee.

4We're not keeping this to ourselves,
we're passing it along to the next generation-
GOD's fame and fortune,
the marvelous things he has done.

5He planted a witness in Jacob,
set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents
to teach it to their children

6So the next generation would know,
and all the generations to come-
Know the truth and tell the stories
so their children 7can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
but keep his commands to the letter.

8Heaven forbid they should be like their parents,
bullheaded and bad,
A fickle and faithless bunch
who never stayed true to God.

9The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth,
ran off when the battle began.

10They were cowards to God's Covenant,
refused to walk by his Word.

11They forgot what he had done-
marvels he'd done right before their eyes.

12He performed miracles in plain sight of their parents
in Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan.

13He split the Sea and they walked right through it;
he piled the waters to the right and the left.

14He led them by day with a cloud,
led them all the night long with a fiery torch.

15He split rocks in the wilderness,
gave them all they could drink from underground springs;

16He made creeks flow out from sheer rock,
and water pour out like a river.

17All they did was sin even more,
rebel in the desert against the High God.

18They tried to get their own way with God,
clamored for favors, for special attention.

19They whined like spoiled children,
“Why can't God give us a decent meal in this desert?

20Sure, he struck the rock and the water flowed,
creeks cascaded from the rock.
But how about some fresh-baked bread?
How about a nice cut of meat?”

21When GOD heard that, he was furious-
his anger flared against Jacob,
he lost his temper with Israel.

22It was clear they didn't believe God,
had no intention of trusting in his help.

23But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds
and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven.

24He rained down showers of manna to eat,
he gave them the Bread of Heaven.

25They ate the bread of the mighty angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.

26He let East Wind break loose from the skies,
gave a strong push to South Wind.

27This time it was birds that rained down-
succulent birds, an abundance of birds.

28He aimed them right for the center of their camp;
all round their tents there were birds.

29They ate and had their fill;
he handed them everything they craved on a platter.

30But their greed knew no bounds;
they stuffed their mouths with more and more.

31Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted-
he cut down their brightest and best,
he laid low Israel's finest young men.

32And-can you believe it?-they kept right on sinning;
all those wonders and they still wouldn't believe!

33So their lives dribbled off to nothing-
nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.

34When he cut them down, they came running for help;
they turned and pled for mercy.

35They gave witness that God was their rock,
that High God was their redeemer,

36But they didn't mean a word of it;
they lied through their teeth the whole time.

37They could not have cared less about him,
wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.

38And God? Compassionate!
Forgave the sin! Didn't destroy!
Over and over he reined in his anger,
restrained his considerable wrath.

39He knew what they were made of;
he knew there wasn't much to them,

40How often in the desert they had spurned him,
tried his patience in those wilderness years.

41Time and again they pushed him to the limit,
provoked Israel's Holy God.

42How quickly they forgot what he'd done,
forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,

43When he did miracles in Egypt,
wonders on the plain of Zoan.

44He turned the River and its streams to blood-
not a drop of water fit to drink.

45He sent flies, which ate them alive,
and frogs, which bedeviled them.

46He turned their harvest over to caterpillars,
everything they had worked for to the locusts.

47He flattened their grapevines with hail;
a killing frost ruined their orchards.

48He pounded their cattle with hail,
let thunderbolts loose on their herds.

49His anger flared,
a wild firestorm of havoc,
An advance guard of disease-carrying angels

50to clear the ground, preparing the way before him.
He didn't spare those people,
he let the plague rage through their lives.

51He killed all the Egyptian firstborns,
lusty infants, offspring of Ham's virility.

52Then he led his people out like sheep,
took his flock safely through the wilderness.

53He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear.
The Sea took care of their enemies for good.

54He brought them into his holy land,
this mountain he claimed for his own.

55He scattered everyone who got in their way;
he staked out an inheritance for them-
the tribes of Israel all had their own places.

56But they kept on giving him a hard time,
rebelled against God, the High God,
refused to do anything he told them.

57They were worse, if that's possible, than their parents:
traitors-crooked as a corkscrew.

58Their pagan orgies provoked God's anger,
their obscene idolatries broke his heart.

59When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious;
he posted a huge No over Israel.

60He walked off and left Shiloh empty,
abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel.

61He let his pride and joy go to the dogs,
turned his back on the pride of his life.

62He turned them loose on fields of battle;
angry, he let them fend for themselves.

63Their young men went to war and never came back;
their young women waited in vain.

64Their priests were massacred,
and their widows never shed a tear.

65Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet
like someone roused from deep sleep,
shouting like a drunken warrior.

66He hit his enemies hard, sent them running,
yelping, not daring to look back.

67He disqualified Joseph as leader,
told Ephraim he didn't have what it takes,

68And chose the Tribe of Judah instead,
Mount Zion, which he loves so much.

69He built his sanctuary there, resplendent,
solid and lasting as the earth itself.

70Then he chose David, his servant,
handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.

71One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs,
the next day God had him shepherding Jacob,
his people Israel, his prize possession.

72His good heart made him a good shepherd;
he guided the people wisely and well.

2They've served up the corpses of your servants
as carrion food for birds of prey,
Threw the bones of your holy people
out to the wild animals to gnaw on.

3They dumped out their blood
like buckets of water.
All around Jerusalem, their bodies
were left to rot, unburied.

4We're nothing but a joke to our neighbors,
graffiti scrawled on the city walls.

5How long do we have to put up with this, GOD?
Do you have it in for us for good?
Will your smoldering rage never cool down?

6If you're going to be angry, be angry
with the pagans who care nothing about you,
or your rival kingdoms who ignore you.

7They're the ones who ruined Jacob,
who wrecked and looted the place where he lived.

8Don't blame us for the sins of our parents.
Hurry up and help us; we're at the end of our rope.

9You're famous for helping; God, give us a break.
Your reputation is on the line.
Pull us out of this mess, forgive us our sins-
do what you're famous for doing!

10Don't let the heathen get by with their sneers:
“Where's your God? Is he out to lunch?”
Go public and show the godless world
that they can't kill your servants and get by with it.

11Give groaning prisoners a hearing;
pardon those on death row from their doom-you can do it!

12Give our jeering neighbors what they've got coming to them;
let their God-taunts boomerang and knock them flat.

13Then we, your people, the ones you love and care for,
will thank you over and over and over.
We'll tell everyone we meet
how wonderful you are, how praiseworthy you are!

2So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
can see where they're going.
Get out of bed-you've slept long enough!
Come on the run before it's too late.

3God, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

4GOD, God of the angel armies,
how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
while your people call for fire and brimstone?

5You put us on a diet of tears,
bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.

6You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
our enemies poke fun day after day.

7God of the angel armies, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

8Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt,
cleared out the brambles and briers
and planted your very own vineyard?

9You prepared the good earth,
you planted her roots deep;
the vineyard filled the land.

10Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
even dwarfing the giant cedars.

11Your vine ranged west to the Sea,
east to the River.

12So why do you no longer protect your vine?
Trespassers pick its grapes at will;

13Wild pigs crash through and crush it,
and the mice nibble away at what's left.

14God of the angel armies, turn our way!
Take a good look at what's happened
and attend to this vine.

15Care for what you once tenderly planted-
the vine you raised from a shoot.

16And those who dared to set it on fire-
give them a look that will kill!

17Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
the child you raised to adulthood.

18We will never turn our back on you;
breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!

19GOD, God of the angel armies, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.

2Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
sweet sounds from lute and harp,

3Trumpets and trombones and horns:
it's festival day, a feast to God!

4A day decreed by God,
solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.

5He commanded Joseph to keep this day
so we'd never forget what he did in Egypt.
I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:

6“I took the world off your shoulders,
freed you from a life of hard labor.

7You called to me in your pain;
I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

8“Listen, dear ones-get this straight;
O Israel, don't take this lightly.

9Don't take up with strange gods,
don't worship the latest in gods.

10I'm GOD, your God, the very God
who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
filled your hungry stomachs.

11“But my people didn't listen,
Israel paid no attention;

12So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
Do it your own way!’

13“Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
Israel, will you follow my map?

14I'll make short work of your enemies,
give your foes the back of my hand.

15I'll send the GOD-haters cringing like dogs,
never to be heard from again.

16You'll feast on my fresh-baked bread
spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

2“Enough! You've corrupted justice long enough,
you've let the wicked get away with murder.

3You're here to defend the defenseless,
to make sure that underdogs get a fair break;

4Your job is to stand up for the powerless,
and prosecute all those who exploit them.”

5Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges!
They haven't a clue to what's going on.
And now everything's falling apart,
the world's coming unglued.

6“I commissioned you judges, each one of you,
deputies of the High God,

7But you've betrayed your commission
and now you're stripped of your rank, busted.”

8O God, give them their just deserts!
You've got the whole world in your hands!

2Your enemies are out there whooping it up,
the God-haters are living it up;

3They're plotting to do your people in,
conspiring to rob you of your precious ones.

4“Let's wipe this nation from the face of the earth,”
they say; “scratch Israel's name off the books.”

5And now they're putting their heads together,
making plans to get rid of you.

6Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,

7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia and the Tyrians,

8And now Assyria has joined up,
Giving muscle to the gang of Lot.

9Do to them what you did to Midian,
to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon Brook;

10They came to a bad end at Endor,
nothing but dung for the garden.

11Cut down their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb,
their princes to nothings like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12With their empty brags, “We're grabbing it all,
grabbing God's gardens for ourselves.”

13My God! I've had it with them!
Blow them away!
Tumbleweeds in the desert waste,

14charred sticks in the burned-over ground.

15Knock the breath right out of them, so they're gasping

16for breath, gasping, “GOD.”

17Bring them to the end of their rope,
and leave them there dangling, helpless.

18Then they'll learn your name: “GOD,”
the one and only High God on earth.

2Always dreamed of a room in your house,
where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
singing their songs in the place where we worship.
GOD of the Angel Armies! King! God!

4How blessed they are to live and sing there!

5And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;

6They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

7God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn-Zion! God in full view!

8God of the Angel Armies, listen:
O God of Jacob, open your ears-I'm praying!

9Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

10One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God
than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.

11All sunshine and sovereign is GOD,
generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions.

12It's smooth sailing all the way with GOD of the Angel Armies.

2You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.

3You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.

4Help us again, God of our help;
don't hold a grudge against us forever.

5You aren't going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?

6Why not help us make a fresh start-a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!

7Show us how much you love us, GOD!
Give us the salvation we need!

8I can't wait to hear what he'll say.
GOD's about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they'll never again live like fools.

9See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!

10Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!

11Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!

12Oh yes! GOD gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.

13Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.

2Keep me safe-haven't I lived a good life?
Help your servant-I'm depending on you!

3You're my God; have mercy on me.
I count on you from morning to night.

4Give your servant a happy life;
I put myself in your hands!

5You're well-known as good and forgiving,
bighearted to all who ask for help.

6Pay attention, GOD, to my prayer;
bend down and listen to my cry for help.

7Every time I'm in trouble I call on you,
confident that you'll answer.

8There's no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord,
and nothing to compare with your works.

9All the nations you made are on their way,
ready to give honor to you, O Lord,
Ready to put your beauty on display,

10parading your greatness,
And the great things you do-
God, you're the one, there's no one but you!

11Train me, GOD, to walk straight;
then I'll follow your true path.
Put me together, one heart and mind;
then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear.

12From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;
I've never kept secret what you're up to.

13You've always been great toward me-what love!
You snatched me from the brink of disaster!

14God, these bullies have reared their heads!
A gang of thugs is after me-
and they don't care a thing about you.

15But you, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered, immense in love,
and you never, never quit.

16So look me in the eye and show kindness,
give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!

17Make a show of how much you love me
so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,
As you, GOD, gently and powerfully
put me back on my feet.

2 and oh, how GOD loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
the homes of Jacob put together!

3God's hometown-oh!
everyone there is talking about you!

4I name them off, those among whom I'm famous:
Egypt and Babylon,
also Philistia,
even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word's getting around; they point them out:
“This one was born again here!”

5The word's getting out on Zion:
“Men and women, right and left,
get born again in her!”

6GOD registers their names in his book:
“This one, this one, and this one-
born again, right here.”

7Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
“All my springs are in you!”

2Put me on your salvation agenda;
take notes on the trouble I'm in.

3I've had my fill of trouble;
I'm camped on the edge of hell.

4I'm written off as a lost cause,
one more statistic, a hopeless case.

5Abandoned as already dead,
one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone-
I'm a black hole in oblivion.

6You've dropped me into a bottomless pit,
sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.

7I'm battered senseless by your rage,
relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.

8You turned my friends against me,
made me horrible to them.
I'm caught in a maze and can't find my way out,

9blinded by tears of pain and frustration.
I call to you, GOD; all day I call.
I wring my hands, I plead for help.

10Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?

11Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?

12Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?

13I'm standing my ground, GOD, shouting for help,
at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.

14Why, GOD, do you turn a deaf ear?
Why do you make yourself scarce?

15For as long as I remember I've been hurting;
I've taken the worst you can hand out, and I've had it.

16Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
I'm bleeding, black and blue.

17You've attacked me fiercely from every side,
raining down blows till I'm nearly dead.

18You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
the only friend I have left is Darkness.

2I'll never quit telling the story of your love-
how you built the cosmos
and guaranteed everything in it.
Your love has always been our lives' foundation,
your fidelity has been the roof over our world.

3You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader,
I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying,

4‘Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life;
I'll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”

5GOD! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways,
the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways!

6Search high and low, scan skies and land,
you'll find nothing and no one quite like GOD.

7The holy angels are in awe before him;
he looms immense and august over everyone around him.

8GOD of the Angel Armies, who is like you,
powerful and faithful from every angle?

9You put the arrogant ocean in its place
and calm its waves when they turn unruly.

10You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand,
you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist.

11You own the cosmos-you made everything in it,
everything from atom to archangel.

12You positioned the North and South Poles;
the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you.

13With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel-
nobody trifles with you!

14The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule;
Love and Truth are its fruits.

15Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of GOD.

16Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do-they can't keep it quiet!

17Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us-
you've been so good to us! We're walking on air!

18All we are and have we owe to GOD,
Holy God of Israel, our King!

19A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
you spoke to your faithful beloved:
“I've crowned a hero,
I chose the best I could find;

20I found David, my servant,
poured holy oil on his head,

21And I'll keep my hand steadily on him,
yes, I'll stick with him through thick and thin.

22No enemy will get the best of him,
no scoundrel will do him in.

23I'll weed out all who oppose him,
I'll clean out all who hate him.

24I'm with him for good and I'll love him forever;
I've set him on high-he's riding high!

25I've put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;

26he'll call out, ‘Oh, my Father-my God, my Rock of Salvation!’

27Yes, I'm setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
High King over all of earth's kings.

28I'll preserve him eternally in my love,
I'll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.

29I'll guarantee his family tree
and underwrite his rule.

30If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,

31If they spit on the directions I give them
and tear up the rules I post for them

32-I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
and make them face the music.

33But I'll never throw them out,
never abandon or disown them.

34Do you think I'd withdraw my holy promise?
or take back words I'd already spoken?

35I've given my word, my whole and holy word;
do you think I would lie to David?

36His family tree is here for good,
his sovereignty as sure as the sun,

37Dependable as the phases of the moon,
inescapable as weather.”

38But GOD, you did walk off and leave us,
you lost your temper with the one you anointed.

39You tore up the promise you made to your servant,
you stomped his crown in the mud.

40You blasted his home to kingdom come,
reduced his city to a pile of rubble

41Picked clean by wayfaring strangers,
a joke to all the neighbors.

42You declared a holiday for all his enemies,
and they're celebrating for all they're worth.

43Angry, you opposed him in battle,
refused to fight on his side;

44You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior,
ground his kingly honor in the dirt.

45You took the best years of his life
and left him an impotent, ruined husk.

46How long do we put up with this, GOD?
Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever?

47Remember my sorrow and how short life is.
Did you create men and women for nothing but this?

48We'll see death soon enough. Everyone does.
And there's no back door out of hell.

49So where is the love you're so famous for, Lord?
What happened to your promise to David?

50Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord;
I'm the butt of the jokes of all nations,

51The taunting jokes of your enemies, GOD,
as they dog the steps of your dear anointed.

52Blessed be GOD forever and always!
Yes. Oh, yes.

2 long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”-you are God.

3So don't return us to mud, saying,
“Back to where you came from!”

4Patience! You've got all the time in the world-whether
a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you.

5Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass

6That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?

7Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we're at the end of our rope.

8You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.

9All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we're ever going to get?

10We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.

11Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?

12Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!

13Come back, GOD-how long do we have to wait?-
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.

14Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we'll skip and dance all the day long.

15Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we've seen enough evil to last a lifetime.

16Let your servants see what you're best at-
the ways you rule and bless your children.

17And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

2Say this: “GOD, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!”

3That's right-he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.

4His huge outstretched arms protect you-
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.

5Fear nothing-not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,

6Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.

7Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.

8You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.

9Yes, because GOD's your refuge,
the High God your very own home,

10Evil can't get close to you,
harm can't get through the door.

11He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.

12If you stumble, they'll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.

13You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

14“If you'll hold on to me for dear life,” says GOD,
“I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.

15Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.

16I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”

2To announce your love each daybreak,
sing your faithful presence all through the night,

3Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
the full-bodied music of strings.

4You made me so happy, GOD.
I saw your work and I shouted for joy.

5How magnificent your work, GOD!
How profound your thoughts!

6Dullards never notice what you do;
fools never do get it.

7When the wicked popped up like weeds
and all the evil men and women took over,
You mowed them down,
finished them off once and for all.

8You, GOD, are High and Eternal.

9Look at your enemies, GOD!
Look at your enemies-ruined!
Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!

10But you've made me strong as a charging bison,
you've honored me with a festive parade.

11The sight of my critics going down is still fresh,
the rout of my malicious detractors.
My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:

12“Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;

13transplanted to GOD's courtyard,
They'll grow tall in the presence of God,

14lithe and green, virile still in old age.”

15Such witnesses to upright GOD!
My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!

2Your throne ever firm-you're Eternal!

3Sea storms are up, GOD,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.

4Stronger than wild sea storms,
Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
Mighty GOD rules from High Heaven.

5What you say goes-it always has.
“Beauty” and “Holy” mark your palace rule,
GOD, to the very end of time.

2Judge of the earth, take your stand;
throw the book at the arrogant.

3GOD, the wicked get away with murder-
how long will you let this go on?

4They brag and boast
and crow about their crimes!

5They walk all over your people, GOD,
exploit and abuse your precious people.

6They take out anyone who gets in their way;
if they can't use them, they kill them.

7They think, “GOD isn't looking,
Jacob's God is out to lunch.”

8Well, think again, you idiots,
fools-how long before you get smart?

9Do you think Ear-Maker doesn't hear,
Eye-Shaper doesn't see?

10Do you think the trainer of nations doesn't correct,
the teacher of Adam doesn't know?

11GOD knows, all right-
knows your stupidity,
sees your shallowness.

12How blessed the man you train, GOD,
the woman you instruct in your Word,

13Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,
while a jail is being built for the wicked.

14GOD will never walk away from his people,
never desert his precious people.

15Rest assured that justice is on its way
and every good heart put right.

16Who stood up for me against the wicked?
Who took my side against evil workers?

17If GOD hadn't been there for me,
I never would have made it.

18The minute I said, “I'm slipping, I'm falling,”
your love, GOD, took hold and held me fast.

19When I was upset and beside myself,
you calmed me down and cheered me up.

20Can Misrule have anything in common with you?
Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side?

21They ganged up on good people,
plotted behind the backs of the innocent.

22But GOD became my hideout,
God was my high mountain retreat,

23Then boomeranged their evil back on them:
for their evil ways he wiped them out,
our GOD cleaned them out for good.

2Let's march into his presence singing praises,
lifting the rafters with our hymns!

3And why? Because GOD is the best,
High King over all the gods.

4In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,
in the other hand grasps the high mountains.

5He made Ocean-he owns it!
His hands sculpted Earth!

6So come, let us worship: bow before him,
on your knees before GOD, who made us!

7Oh yes, he's our God,
and we're the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.
Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks:

8“Don't turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising,
As on the day of the Wilderness Test,

9when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.

10For forty years they watched me at work among them,
as over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked-oh, was I provoked!
‘Can't they keep their minds on God for five minutes?
Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’

11Exasperated, I exploded,
‘They'll never get where they're headed,
never be able to sit down and rest.’”

2Sing to GOD-worship GOD!
Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,

3Take the news of his glory to the lost,
News of his wonders to one and all!

4For GOD is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap;

5Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.
GOD made the heavens-

6Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.

7Bravo, GOD, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.

8Bring gifts and celebrate,

9Bow before the beauty of GOD,
Then to your knees-everyone worship!

10Get out the message-GOD Rules!
He put the world on a firm foundation;
He treats everyone fair and square.

11Let's hear it from Sky,
With Earth joining in,
And a huge round of applause from Sea.

12Let Wilderness turn cartwheels,
Animals, come dance,
Put every tree of the forest in the choir-

13An extravaganza before GOD as he comes,
As he comes to set everything right on earth,
Set everything right, treat everyone fair.

2Bright clouds and storm clouds circle ‘round him;
Right and justice anchor his rule.

3Fire blazes out before him,
Flaming high up the craggy mountains.

4His lightnings light up the world;
Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear.

5The mountains take one look at GOD
And melt, melt like wax before earth's Lord.

6The heavens announce that he'll set everything right,
And everyone will see it happen-glorious!

7All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry-
And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods!
On your knees, all you gods-worship him!

8And Zion, you listen and take heart!
Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out:
GOD has done it all, has set everything right.

9You, GOD, are High God of the cosmos,
Far, far higher than any of the gods.

10GOD loves all who hate evil,
And those who love him he keeps safe,
Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.

11Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God's people,
Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.

12So, God's people, shout praise to GOD,
Give thanks to our Holy God!

2GOD made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.

3He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel-indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look-God's work of salvation!

4Shout your praises to GOD, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

5Round up an orchestra to play for GOD,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

6Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King GOD.

7Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

8Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale-

9A tribute to GOD when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.
He'll straighten out the whole world,
He'll put the world right, and everyone in it.

2GOD looms majestic in Zion,
He towers in splendor over all the big names.

3Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!
Holy. Yes, holy.

4Strong King, lover of justice,
You laid things out fair and square;
You set down the foundations in Jacob,
Foundation stones of just and right ways.

5Honor GOD, our God; worship his rule!
Holy. Yes, holy.

6Moses and Aaron were his priests,
Samuel among those who prayed to him.
They prayed to GOD and he answered them;

7He spoke from the pillar of cloud.
And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them.

8And then GOD, our God, answered them
(But you were never soft on their sins).

9Lift high GOD, our God; worship at his holy mountain.
Holy. Yes, holy is GOD our God.

2 Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

3Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

4Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

5For GOD is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

2I'm finding my way down the road of right living,
but how long before you show up?
I'm doing the very best I can,
and I'm doing it at home, where it counts.

3I refuse to take a second look
at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods,
stay clear of contamination.

4The crooked in heart keep their distance;
I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.

5I put a gag on the gossip
who bad-mouths his neighbor;
I can't stand
arrogance.

6But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people-
they're the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow-
these are the ones I want at my side.

7But no one who traffics in lies
gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.
I've rounded up all the wicked like cattle
and herded them right out of the country.

8I purged GOD's city
of all who make a business of evil.

2Don't turn your back on me
just when I need you so desperately.
Pay attention! This is a cry for help!
And hurry-this can't wait!

3I'm wasting away to nothing,
I'm burning up with fever.

4I'm a ghost of my former self,
half-consumed already by terminal illness.

5My jaws ache from gritting my teeth;
I'm nothing but skin and bones.

6I'm like a buzzard in the desert,
a crow perched on the rubble.

7Insomniac, I twitter away,
mournful as a sparrow in the gutter.

8All day long my enemies taunt me,
while others just curse.

9They bring in meals-casseroles of ashes!
I draw drink from a barrel of my tears.

10And all because of your furious anger;
you swept me up and threw me out.

11There's nothing left of me-
a withered weed, swept clean from the path.

12Yet you, GOD, are sovereign still,
always and ever sovereign.

13You'll get up from your throne and help Zion-
it's time for compassionate help.

14Oh, how your servants love this city's rubble
and weep with compassion over its dust!

15The godless nations will sit up and take notice
-see your glory, worship your name-

16When GOD rebuilds Zion,
when he shows up in all his glory,

17When he attends to the prayer of the wretched.
He won't dismiss their prayer.

18Write this down for the next generation
so people not yet born will praise GOD:

19“GOD looked out from his high holy place;
from heaven he surveyed the earth.

20He listened to the groans of the doomed,
he opened the doors of their death cells.”

21Write it so the story can be told in Zion,
so GOD's praise will be sung in Jerusalem's streets

22And wherever people gather together
along with their rulers to worship him.

23GOD sovereignly brought me to my knees,
he cut me down in my prime.

24“Oh, don't,” I prayed, “please don't let me die.
You have more years than you know what to do with!

25You laid earth's foundations a long time ago,
and handcrafted the very heavens;

26You'll still be around when they're long gone,
threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes.
You'll throw them away like a worn-out coat,

27but year after year you're as good as new.

28Your servants' children will have a good place to live
and their children will be at home with you.”

2O my soul, bless GOD,
don't forget a single blessing!

3He forgives your sins-every one.
He heals your diseases-every one.

4He redeems you from hell-saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy-a paradise crown.

5He wraps you in goodness-beauty eternal.
He renews your youth-you're always young in his presence.

6GOD makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.

7He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.

8GOD is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he's rich in love.

9He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.

10He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

11As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.

12And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.

13As parents feel for their children,
GOD feels for those who fear him.

14He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we're made of mud.

15Men and women don't live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

16But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.

17GOD's love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children

18as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.

19GOD has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He's the King!

20So bless GOD, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.

21Bless GOD, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.

22Bless GOD, all creatures, wherever you are-
everything and everyone made by GOD.
And you, O my soul, bless GOD!

2Dressed up in sunshine,
and all heaven stretched out for your tent.

3You built your palace on the ocean deeps,
made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.

4You commandeered winds as messengers,
appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.

5You set earth on a firm foundation
so that nothing can shake it, ever.

6You blanketed earth with ocean,
covered the mountains with deep waters;

7Then you roared and the water ran away-
your thunder crash put it to flight.

8Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out
in the places you assigned them.

9You set boundaries between earth and sea;
never again will earth be flooded.

10You started the springs and rivers,
sent them flowing among the hills.

11All the wild animals now drink their fill,
wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,
ravens make their voices heard.

13You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns;
earth is supplied with plenty of water.

14You make grass grow for the livestock,
hay for the animals that plow the ground.
Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,

15wine to make people happy,
Their faces glowing with health,
a people well-fed and hearty.

16GOD's trees are well-watered-
the Lebanon cedars he planted.

17Birds build their nests in those trees;
look-the stork at home in the treetop.

18Mountain goats climb about the cliffs;
badgers burrow among the rocks.

19The moon keeps track of the seasons,
the sun is in charge of each day.

20When it's dark and night takes over,
all the forest creatures come out.

21The young lions roar for their prey,
clamoring to God for their supper.

22When the sun comes up, they vanish,
lazily stretched out in their dens.

23Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,
busy at their jobs until evening.

24What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

25Oh, look-the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.

26Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.

27All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.

28You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.