PSALM IV

PSALM VI

Psalm				94	95	96	97	98	99	100
Psalm	101	102	103	104	105	106	107	108

至其他聖詠

01-22

PSALM ¤94 {93}

{Against evil rulers.— We believe in the redemption, let us also believe in the judgment. But before any judgment, God is the one who cares for all.}

°1 O Lord God, vengeance is yours; O God who avenges, show yourself!

°2 Judge of the world, repay the proud with what they deserve.

°3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?

°4 Pouring out words of arrogance, evildoers make a show of their insolence.

°5 They crush your people, O Lord, they oppress your inheritance.

°6 They murder the widow and the lonely, they massacre the helpless;

°7 “The Lord does not see,” they say, “the God of Jacob does not care.”

°8 Remember this, you stupid people, when will you understand, you fools!

°9 He who made the ear, will he not hear? He who formed the eye, will he not see?

°10 He who rebukes nations, will he not punish them?

°11 The Lord knows the thoughts of humans, that they are a puff of wind.

°12 Fortunate the one you correct, O Lord, the one you teach your law;

°13 you give them relief from distress while a pit is dug for the wicked.

°14 The Lord will not reject his people nor will he forsake his heritage.

°15 Justice will return to the just, and the upright will follow in its wake.

°16 Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who stands by me against evildoers?

°17 Had the Lord not helped me, I would have fallen into the silence of death.

°18 No sooner did I say, “My foot is slipping,” your kindness, O Lord, held me up.

°19 The more worries and trouble assailed me, the more you consoled me.

°20 You shun wicked rulers who impose injustice by law.

°21 They plot together against the virtuous and condemn the innocent.

°22 But the Lord is my stronghold, my God, my rock of refuge.

°23 He will repay them for their evil and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord, our God, will blot them out.

PSALM ¤95 {94}

{Come, sing to the Lord.— When we come to praise God, let us prepare to listen to his word; and try to do his will in daily life.}

°1 Come, let us sing to the Lord,

let us make a joyful sound

to the Rock of our salvation.

°2 Let us come before him giving thanks,

with music and songs of praise.

°3 For the Lord is the great God,

the great King above all gods.

°4 In his hand are the depths of the earth

and the mountain heights.

°5 The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hand shaped the dry land.

°6 Come and worship; let us bow down,

kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

°7 He is our God, and we his people;

the flock he leads and pastures.

Would that today you heard his voice!

°8 Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah,

in the desert, on that day at Massah,

°9 when your ancestors challenged me,

and they put me to the test.

°10 For forty years they wearied me and I said,

“They are a people of inconstant heart;

they have not known my ways.”

°11 So I declared on oath in my anger,

“Never shall they enter my rest.”

PSALM ¤96 {95}

§ God loves justice.

°1 Sing to the Lord a new song,

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

°2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

°3 Recall his glory among the nations,

tell all the peoples his wonderful deeds.

°4 How great is the Lord and worthy of praise!

Above all gods he is to be feared.

°5 For all other gods are worthless idols,

but Yahweh is the one who made the heavens.

°6 Splendor and majesty go before him;

power and glory fill his sanctuary.

°7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,

give to the Lord glory and strength.

°8 Give to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring gifts and enter his courts.

°9 Worship the Lord with holy celebrations;

stand in awe of him, all the earth.

°10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

He will judge the peoples with justice.

°11 Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice;

let the sea and all that fills it resound;

°12 let the fields exult and everything in them;

let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy.

°13 Let them sing before the Lord

who comes to judge the earth.

He will rule the world with justice

and the peoples with fairness.

PSALM ¤97 {96}

{God reigns and the idols disappear.— Already light shines on the just. Already it shines on the person of the risen Christ.}

°1 The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice;

let the distant islands be glad.

°2 Clouds and darkness surround him;

justice and right are his throne.

°3 Fire goes before him,

burning his foes on every side.

°4 His lightning lights up the world;

the earth watches and trembles.

°5 The mountains melt like wax

before the Lord, the Lord of all the earth.

°6 The heavens proclaim his justice,

all peoples see his glory.

°7 Shame on worshipers of idols,

on those proud of their worthless images.

Let all spirits bow before him.

°8 Zion hears and rejoices,

and the cities of Judah exult,

because of your judgments, O God.

°9 For you are the Master of the universe,

exalted far above all gods.

°10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,

for he preserves the lives of his faithful,

he delivers them from their foes.

°11 He sheds light upon the upright,

and gladness upon the just.

°12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are blameless,

and give praise to his holy name.

PSALM ¤98 {97}

{Sing a new song to the Lord.— Humanity has found the way to liberation and salvation:

– in the coming of Christ, God-made-man;

– in his resurrection.}

°1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonders; his right hand, his holy arm, has won victory for him.

°2 The Lord has shown his salvation, revealing his justice to the nations.

°3 He has not forgotten his love nor his faithfulness to Israel. The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power.

°4 All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise, °5 with melody of the lyre and with music of the harp.

°6 With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

°7 Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples.

°8 Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy °9 before the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

PSALM ¤99 {98}

§ Holy is the Lord!

°1 The Lord reigns and the nations tremble. He is enthroned upon the cherubim; the earth gets distraught.

°2 Great is the Lord in Zion; he is high over all the nations.

°3 May they give glory to your name, great and terrible: “Holy is he: °4 this is the mighty King who loves justice.”

For you come to install fairness, to establish in Jacob right and justice.

°5 Extol the Lord, our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he! And mighty!

°6 Among his priests were Moses and Aaron, and Samuel among those who called on his name. They called to the Lord, and he answered them.

°7 In the pillar of cloud he spoke to them, and they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

°8 O Lord our God, you responded to them; you were a patient God for them, but you punished their wrongs.

°9 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his holy mountain. Holy is the Lord our God!

PSALM ¤100 {99}

{All the earth acclaim the Lord.— Let all the earth sing, and you, serve him with joy.}

°1 All you lands, acclaim the Lord!

°2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

°3 Know that the Lord is God; he created us and we are his people, the sheep of his fold.

°4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.

°5 For the Lord is good; his love lasts forever and his faithfulness through all generations.

PSALM ¤101 {100}

{A king examines his conscience.— I wish to train myself to follow the perfect way, but you, will you come to me?}

I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise.

°2 I will walk the way of integrity – O Lord, when will you come to me? With a blameless heart I will walk within my house.

°3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the deeds of faithless people; I will have no part in them.

°4 I will banish all wicked hearts, and evil I will not know.

°5 He who deals with others treacherously, I will silence. He who talks and acts arrogantly, I will not endure.

°6 I will choose from the faithful of the land those who may dwell with me; only the upright shall be my servant.

°7 No double-dealer shall live in my house; no one who utters falsehood shall stand before my eyes.

°8 Each morning I will clear the land and silence all the wicked; I will uproot all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.

PSALM ¤102 {101}

§ Prayer in time of affliction.

°2 O Lord, hear my prayer; let my cry for help come to you.

°3 Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble. Turn your ear to me; make haste to answer me when I call.

°4 For my days are passing away like smoke, my bones burning like a furnace.

°5 Like withered grass, my heart is blighted, and I forget to eat my bread.

°6 Because of my great grief I am reduced to skin and bones.

°7 I am like an owl in the wilderness, like a vulture among the ruins.

°8 I awake moaning like a lonely bird on the housetop.

°9 All day long I am taunted by my enemies; they use my name as a curse.

°10 The bread I eat is ashes, my drink is mingled with tears, °11 for your wrath, your fury; for you have thrown me aside.

°12 My days are vanishing like the shadows at night; I wither away like grass.

°13 But you, O Lord, you sit forever; your name endures through all generations.

°14 Arise, have mercy on Zion; this is the time to show her your mercy.

°15 For your servants cherish her stones, and are moved to pity by her dust.

°16 O Lord, the nations will revere your name, and the kings of the earth your glory,

°17 when the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in all his splendor.

°18 For he will answer the prayer of the needy and will not despise their plea.

°19 Let this be written for future ages, “the Lord will be praised by a people he will form.”

°20 From his holy height in heaven, the Lord has looked on the earth °21 to hear the groaning of the prisoners, and free those condemned to death.

°22 Then the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,

°23 when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship him.

°24 My walk has exhausted me, he has cut short my days.

°25 I cry to him, “My God, do not take my life in mid-course, you whose days are from age to age.”

°26 In the beginning you laid the earth’s foundation, the heavens are the work of your hands.

°27 Although they perish, you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment, you change them like clothes: they pass away,

°28 but you remain the same, your years unending.

°29 Your servants’ children will dwell secure; their posterity will endure without fail.

PSALM ¤103 {102}

{The Lord showers his blessings upon you.— This psalm looks on God, humans, and God’s mercy toward humankind: from these three, praise is born.}

°1 Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!

°2 Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all his kindness; °3 he forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; °4 he redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion; °5 he gives fulfillment to your years, and renews your youth like the eagle’s.

°6 The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed.

°7 He has made known his ways to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.

°8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; °9 he will not always scold nor will he be angry forever. °10 He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does he punish us as we deserve.

°11 As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his love for those fearing him; °12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove from us our sins.

°13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him.

°14 For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

°15 The days of mortals are like grass; they bloom like a flower of the field;

°16 but the wind passes over it, and it is gone, his field will not see him again.

°17 But the Lord’s kindness is forever with those who fear him; so is his justice, for their children’s children, °18 for those who keep his covenant and remember his commands, for those who put them into practice.

°19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven; he rules, he has power everywhere.

°20 Praise the Lord, all you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, you who obey his word.

°21 Praise the Lord, all his hosts, all his servants who do his will.

°22 Praise the Lord, all his works, everywhere he rules.

PSALM ¤104 {103}

{The universe praises its Creator.— In contemplating the universe, the believer feels full of admiration and optimism. All comes from God, and this universe is also for humankind. God is now completing his creation through the work of humans and the radiant light of his witnesses: “Send your Spirit to renew the face of the earth.”}

°1 Bless the Lord, my soul!

Clothed in majesty and splendor;

O Lord, my God, how great you are!

°2 You are wrapped in light as with a garment;

you stretch out the heavens like a tent,

°3 you build your upperrooms above the waters.

You make the clouds your chariot

and ride on the wings of the wind;

°4 you make the winds your messengers,

and fire and flame your ministers.

°5 You set the earth on its foundations,

and never will it be shaken.

°6 You covered it with the ocean like a garment,

and waters spread over the mountains.

°7 But at your rebuke the waters flee,

at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

°8 Brought to the mountains, they flow down again

to settle in the valleys.

°9 You set a limit they could not cross,

never again to flood the earth.

°10 You make springs gush forth in valleys

winding among mountains and hills,

°11 giving drink to the beasts of the field,

quenching the thirst of wild donkeys.

°12 Birds build their nests close by

and sing among the branches of trees.

°13 You water the mountains from your abode

and fill the earth with the fruit of your work.

°14 You make grass grow for cattle

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth:

°15 wine to gladden his heart,

oil to make his face shine,

and bread to make him strong.

°16 The Lord waters his trees to their fill,

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.

°17 The birds build their nests,

the stork has its home in the pine trees.

°18 High mountains are for wild goats,

the cliffs a refuge for badgers.

°19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,

and the sun that knows when to set;

°20 when you bring the darkness of the night,

all the beasts of the forest begin to prowl:

°21 the young lions roaring for their prey

claiming their food from God.

°22 When the sun rises, the beasts steal away,

returning to rest in their dens.

°23 Man then goes out to his work,

and toils till evening comes.

°24 How varied O Lord, are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all –

the earth full of your creatures.

°25 Behold the sea, wide and vast,

teeming with countless creatures,

living things both great and small,

°26 a strange world reserved for the ships,

for Leviathan, the dragon you made to play with.

°27 They all look to you

for their food in due time.

°28 You give it to them,

and they gather it up;

you open your hand,

they are filled with good things.

°29 When you hide your face they vanish,

you take away their breath, they expire

and return to dust.

°30 When you send forth your spirit,

they are created,

and the face of the earth is renewed.

°31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works!

°32 He looks on the earth, and it quakes;

he touches the mountain, and it smokes.

°33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to God while I live.

°34 May my song give him pleasure,

as the Lord gives me delight.

°35 May sinners vanish from the earth,

and may the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

PSALM ¤105 {104}

{The beginning of Salvation History.— Remembering the past can be a prayer if we try to see the work of God and thank him for it.}

°1 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his works among the nations.

°2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

°3 Glory in his holy name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

°4 Look to the Lord and be strong; seek his face always.

°5 Remember his wonderful works, his miracles and his judgments,

°6 you descendants of his servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

°7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments reach the whole world.

°8 He remembers his covenant forever, his promise to a thousand generations, °9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the promise he swore to Isaac.

°10 He confirmed his decree to Jacob, to Israel his eternal covenant:

°11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as part of your inheritance.”

°12 When they were few in number, strangers in the land, °13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, °14 he allowed no one to oppress them, and for their sake he rebuked kings:

°15 “Touch not my anointed ones,” he warned, “do my prophets no harm!”

°16 Then he sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; °17 he sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave;

°18 his feet in shackles, his neck in irons °19 till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

°20 The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. °21 He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions, °22 that he might train his princes and teach his elders wisdom.

°23 Then Israel came to Egypt, Jacob settled in the land of Ham. °24 The Lord made his people fruitful and much stronger than their foes, °25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to deal deceitfully with his servants.

°26 Then he sent Moses his servant and Aaron whom he had chosen.

°27 They performed his signs among them, his miracles in the land of Ham.

°28 He sent darkness to the land, but they rebelled against his words.

°29 He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die.

°30 Their land teemed with frogs, invading even the king’s bedroom.

°31 He spoke, and flies and gnats swarmed throughout the country.

°32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning flashed over the land.

°33 He blighted their vines and fig trees, shattered the trees in the countryside.

°34 He spoke and locusts came, grasshoppers without number; °35 they devoured all the vegetation and the produce of the soil; °36 then he smote all the firstborn, the firstfruits of their manhood.

°37 He led Israel out of the alien land, laden with silver and gold, and none were left behind.

°38 Egypt was glad when they departed, so filled were they with dread.

°39 He spread a cloud as covering, and fire to give them light at night.

°40 They asked for food; he gave them quails and fed them with bread from heaven.

°41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out, flowing like a river through the desert.

°42 For he remembered his promise to Abraham, his servant.

°43 So he led forth his people with joy, his chosen ones with singing.

°44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and let them take the fruit of others’ toil,

°45 that they might keep his statutes and remain obedient to his laws.

PSALM ¤106 {105}

{Another look at the history of Israel.— Like Psalm 78, this psalm contrasts the mercy of God and Israel’s rebellions. God punishes but he always gives his grace again.}

Alleluia!

°1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love endures forever.

°2 Who can count the Lord’s mighty deeds, or declare all his praises?

°3 Blessed are they who always do just and right.

°4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; rescue me when you deliver them; °5 let me see the triumph of your faithful, let me share the joy of your nation, and join your people in praising you.

°6 We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

°7 When they were in Egypt, our ancestors had no regard for your wondrous deeds; they forgot the abundance of your love; they rebelled against the Most High by the Sea of Reeds.

°8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.

°9 He rebuked the sea, and it dried up; he led them through the deep as on dry land.

°10 He saved them from hostility, freeing them from the hand of the enemy.

°11 Waters covered their pursuers, and none of them was left alive.

°12 Then they believed his promises and all at once sang his praises.

°13 But soon they forgot his works and did not wait for his counsel.

°14 They gave way to wanton craving and tempted God in the desert.

°15 He gave them what they wanted, then sent them a wasting disease.

°16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

°17 So the earth opened, swallowed Dathan, and buried the company of Abiram; °18 fire broke out against them, burning up the wicked.

°19 They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped the molten image.

°20 They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull that eats grass.

°21 They forgot their Savior God, who had done great things in Egypt, °22 wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

°23 So he spoke of destroying them, but Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to shield them from destruction.

°24 Yet they despised the promised land, for they had no faith in his word.

°25 They grumbled in their tents and would not listen to the voice of the Lord.

°26 So he swore to them with his hand raised that he would let them perish in the desert, °27 scatter their descendants among the nations and disperse them over the lands.

°28 They joined the rites of Baal-Peor and ate sacrifices to lifeless gods.

°29 Their deeds provoked the Lord to anger, and a plague broke out among them.

°30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague came to an end.

°31 This was credited to his uprightness, making him remembered for all ages.

°32 Angered by them at Meribah’s waters, the Lord took it out on Moses °33 for the rash words he uttered, when they rebelled against God.

°34 They dared not destroy the pagans, as the Lord commanded; °35 they mingled with these nations and learned to do as they did.

°36 In serving the idols of the pagans, they were trapped °37 into sacrificing children to demons, °38 shedding the innocent blood of their sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan, polluting the country with blood. °39 They defiled themselves by what they did, playing the harlot in their worship.

°40 The anger of the Lord grew intense and he abhorred his inheritance.

°41 He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled them with arrogance.

°42 Brought by the enemy into subjection, they suffered the agony of oppression.

°43 He delivered them many a time, but they went on defying him and sinking deeper into their sin.

°44 But he heard their cry of affliction and looked on them with compassion.

°45 Remembering his covenant, he relented for their sake, because of his great love.

°46 He let them be pitied by all those who held them captive.

°47 Save us, O Lord, our God, gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to you and praise your holy name.

°48Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

PSALM ¤107 {106}

{A third look at the history of Israel.— Like the two preceding psalms, this one recalls the past, and draws another lesson from it: each time they cried to the Lord, he listened to them. “Let us give thanks for his love.”}

°1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love endures forever.

°2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, °3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

°4 Some strayed in the wilderness and were lost, far away from the city.

°5 They wandered about hungry and thirsty, their lives ebbing away.

°6 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.

°7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could dwell.

°8 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for humans.

°9 He quenches the thirst of the soul and satisfies the hunger of the heart.

°10 They lived in the darkness of death like prisoners suffering in chains, °11 for they rebelled against the word of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

°12 Their backs bent in hard labor, they fell down, and there was no one to help.

°13 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.

°14 He brought them out of the dark and gloom, and he tore asunder their bonds.

°15 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for humans.

°16 For he breaks open gates of bronze and batters down bars of iron.

°17 They were sick because of their wrongs, they were afflicted for their iniquities.

°18 Unable to take any food they drew near the gates of death.

°19 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.

°20 He sent forth his word and healed them, and rescued them from destruction.

°21 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for humans.

°22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds in joyful song.

°23 Those who went to the sea in ships, merchants on the mighty waters, °24 saw the marvels of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

°25 For he spoke and stirred up a storm whipping up the waves of the sea.

°26 Flung upward and plunged to the depths, they lost courage in the ordeal; °27 reeling like drunkards, they were adrift, in spite of all their seamanship.

°28 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.

°29 He stilled the storm to a gentle breeze and hushed the billows to silent waves.

°30 How glad they were! He brought them safe and sound to the port where they were bound.

°31 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for humans.

°32 Let them extol him in the congregation, praise him in the assembly of the people.

°33 He turned rivers into wastelands, flowing springs into parched grounds, °34 and fruitful valleys into salt-flats, because of the wickedness of their inhabitants.

°35 Yet he also turned deserts into watersheds and parched land into flowing springs.

°36 There he let the hungry settle and found a city where they could dwell.

°37 They planted vineyards, they sowed fields, and from them got fruitful harvests.

°38 By his blessing their numbers increased, and their herds and flocks did not diminish.

°39 But then they dwindled and were humbled through oppression, sorrow and distress.

°40 And he who pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes °41 rescued the needy from their affliction and made their families flourish like flocks.

°42 The upright see it and are glad, but the wicked are silenced.

°43 Let the wise consider all this and understand the Lord’s infinite love.

PSALM ¤108 {107}