A Song of Praise

961 O make a new song to the Lord; let all the earth make melody to the Lord. 2 Make songs to the Lord, blessing his name; give the good news of his salvation day by day. 3 Make clear his glory to the nations, and his wonders to all the peoples. 4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all other gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are false gods; but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honour and glory are before him: strong and fair is his holy place. 7 Give to the Lord, O you families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Give to the Lord the glory of his name; take with you an offering and come into his house. 9 O give worship to the Lord in holy robes; be in fear before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, The Lord is King; yes, the world is ordered so that it may not be moved; he will be an upright judge of the peoples. 11 Let the heavens have joy and the earth be glad; let the sea be thundering with all its waters; 12 Let the field be glad, and everything which is in it; yes, let all the trees of the wood be sounding with joy, 13 Before the Lord, for he is come; he is come to be the judge of the earth; the earth will be judged in righteousness, and the peoples with unchanging faith.

The LORD's Dominion and Power

971 The Lord is King, let the earth have joy; let all the sea-lands be glad. 2 Dark clouds are round him; his kingdom is based on righteousness and right judging. 3 Fire goes before him, burning up all those who are against him round about. 4 His bright flames give light to the world; the earth saw it with fear. 5 The mountains became like wax at the coming of the Lord, at the coming of the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens gave out the news of his righteousness, and all the people saw his glory. 7 Shamed be all those who give worship to images, and take pride in false gods; give him worship, all you gods.

8 Zion gave ear and was glad; and the daughters of Judah were full of joy, because of your decisions, O Lord. 9 For you, Lord, are most high over the earth; you are lifted up over all other gods. 10 You who are lovers of the Lord, be haters of evil; he keeps the souls of his saints; he takes them out of the hand of sinners. 11 Light is shining on the lovers of righteousness, and for the upright in heart there is joy. 12 Be glad in the Lord, you upright men; praising the memory of his holy name.

Praise for God's Righteousness

981 O make a new song to the Lord, because he has done works of wonder; with his right hand, and with his holy arm, he has overcome. 2 The Lord has given to all the knowledge of his salvation; he has made clear his righteousness in the eyes of the nations. 3 He has kept in mind his mercy and his unchanging faith to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Let all the earth send out a glad cry to the Lord; sounding with a loud voice, and praising him with songs of joy. 5 Make melody to the Lord with instruments of music; with a corded instrument and the voice of song. 6 With wind instruments and the sound of the horn, make a glad cry before the Lord, the King. 7 Let the sea be thundering, with all its waters; the world, and all who are living in it; 8 Let the streams make sounds of joy with their hands; let the mountains be glad together, 9 Before the Lord, for he has come as judge of the earth; judging the world in righteousness, and giving true decisions for the peoples.

The LORD's Faithfulness to Israel

991 The Lord is King; let the peoples be in fear: his seat is on the winged ones; let the earth be moved. 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is high over all the nations. 3 Let them give praise to your name, for it is great and to be feared; holy is he. 4 The king's power is used for righteousness; you give true decisions, judging rightly in the land of Jacob. 5 Give high honour to the Lord our God, worshipping at his feet; holy is he.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who gave honour to his name; they made prayers to the Lord, and he gave answers to them. 7 His voice came to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his witness, and the law which he gave them. 8 You gave them an answer, O Lord our God; you took away their sin, though you gave them punishment for their wrongdoing. 9 Give high honour to the Lord our God, worshipping with your faces turned to his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.

An Exhortation to Thanksgiving

1001 Make a glad sound to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Give worship to the Lord with joy; come before him with a song. 3 Be certain that the Lord is God; it is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep to whom he gives food. 4 Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name. 5 For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations.

A Pledge to Live Righteously

1011 I will make a song of mercy and righteousness; to you, O Lord, will I make melody. 2 I will do wisely in the way of righteousness: O when will you come to me? I will be walking in my house with a true heart. 3 I will not put any evil thing before my eyes; I am against all turning to one side; I will not have it near me. 4 The false heart I will send away from me: I will not have an evil-doer for a friend. 5 I will put to death anyone who says evil of his neighbour secretly; the man with a high look and a heart of pride is disgusting to me. 6 My eyes will be on those of good faith in the land, so that they may be living in my house; he who is walking in the right way will be my servant. 7 The worker of deceit will not come into my house; the false man will have no place before my eyes. 8 Morning by morning will I put to death all the sinners in the land, so that all evil-doers may be cut off from Jerusalem.

A Cry in Distress

1021 Give ear to my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you. 2 Let not your face be veiled from me in the day of my trouble; give ear to me, and let my cry be answered quickly. 3 My days are wasted like smoke, and my bones are burned up as in a fire. 4 My heart is broken; it has become dry and dead like grass, so that I give no thought to food. 5 Because of the voice of my sorrow, my flesh is wasted to the bone. 6 I am like a bird living by itself in the waste places; like the night-bird in a waste of sand. 7 I keep watch like a bird by itself on the house-top. 8 My haters say evil of me all day; those who are violent against me make use of my name as a curse. 9 I have had dust for bread and my drink has been mixed with weeping: 10 Because of your passion and your wrath, for I have been lifted up and then made low by you. 11 My days are like a shade which is stretched out; I am dry like the grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are eternal; and your name will never come to an end. 13 You will again get up and have mercy on Zion: for the time has come for her to be comforted. 14 For your servants take pleasure in her stones, looking with love on her dust. 15 So the nations will give honour to the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will be in fear of his glory: 16 When the Lord has put up the walls of Zion, and has been been in his glory; 17 When he has given ear to the prayer of the poor, and has not put his request on one side. 18 This will be put in writing for the coming generation, and the people of the future will give praise to the Lord. 19 For from his holy place the Lord has seen, looking down on the earth from heaven; 20 Hearing the cry of the prisoner, making free those for whom death is ordered; 21 So that they may give out the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; 22 When the peoples are come together, and the kingdoms, to give worship to the Lord.

23 He has taken my strength from me in the way; he has made short my days. 24 I will say, O my God, take me not away before my time; your years go on through all generations: 25 In the past you put the earth on its base, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will come to an end, but you will still go on; they all will become old like a coat, and like a robe they will be changed: 27 But you are the unchanging One, and your years will have no end. 28 The children of your servants will have a safe resting-place, and their seed will be ever before you.