Psalm 89

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

 ¹ I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD,[178] forever;

with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

 ² I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;

your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

 ³ You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

I have sworn to my servant David:

 ⁴ ‘I will establish your descendants forever,

and build your throne for all generations.’”

Selah

 ⁵ Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,

your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.

 ⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?

Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,

 ⁷ a God feared in the council of the holy ones,

great and awesome[179] above all that are around him?

 ⁸ O LORD God of hosts,

who is as mighty as you, O LORD?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

 ⁹ You rule the raging of the sea;

when its waves rise, you still them.

¹⁰ You crushed Rahab like a carcass;

you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

¹¹ The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.

¹² The north and the south[180]—you created them;

Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

¹³ You have a mighty arm;

strong is your hand, high your right hand.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

¹⁵ Happy are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;

¹⁶ they exult in your name all day long,

and extol[181] your righteousness.

¹⁷ For you are the glory of their strength;

by your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the LORD,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:

“I have set the crown [182] on one who is mighty,

I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰ I have found my servant David;

with my holy oil I have anointed him;

²¹ my hand shall always remain with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.

²² The enemy shall not outwit him,

the wicked shall not humble him.

²³ I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

²⁴ My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;

and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

²⁵ I will set his hand on the sea

and his right hand on the rivers.

²⁶ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’

²⁷ I will make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸ Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,

and my covenant with him will stand firm.

²⁹ I will establish his line forever,

and his throne as long as the heavens endure.

³⁰ If his children forsake my law

and do not walk according to my ordinances,

³¹ if they violate my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

³² then I will punish their transgression with the rod

and their iniquity with scourges;

³³ but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,

or be false to my faithfulness.

³⁴ I will not violate my covenant,

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

³⁵ Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

³⁶ His line shall continue forever,

and his throne endure before me like the sun.

³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon,

an enduring witness in the skies.”

Selah

³⁸ But now you have spurned and rejected him;

you are full of wrath against your anointed.

³⁹ You have renounced the covenant with your servant;

you have defiled his crown in the dust.

⁴⁰ You have broken through all his walls;

you have laid his strongholds in ruins.

⁴¹ All who pass by plunder him;

he has become the scorn of his neighbors.

⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

you have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³ Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,

and you have not supported him in battle.

⁴⁴ You have removed the scepter from his hand,[183]

and hurled his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his youth;

you have covered him with shame.

Selah

⁴⁶ How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?

How long will your wrath burn like fire?

⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is—[184]

for what vanity you have created all mortals!

⁴⁸ Who can live and never see death?

Who can escape the power of Sheol?

Selah

⁴⁹ Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,

which by your faithfulness you swore to David?

⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;

how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,[185]

⁵¹ with which your enemies taunt, O LORD,

with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.

⁵² Blessed be the LORD forever.

Amen and Amen.

BOOK IV

Psalm 90

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

 ¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place[186]

in all generations.

 ² Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 ³ You turn us[187] back to dust,

and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”

 ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight

are like yesterday when it is past,

or like a watch in the night.

 ⁵ You sweep them away; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning;

 ⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

 ⁷ For we are consumed by your anger;

by your wrath we are overwhelmed.

 ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

 ⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath;

our years come to an end[188] like a sigh.

¹⁰ The days of our life are seventy years,

or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;

even then their span[189] is only toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger?

Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

¹² So teach us to count our days

that we may gain a wise heart.

¹³ Turn, O LORD! How long?

Have compassion on your servants!

¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁵ Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,

and as many years as we have seen evil.

¹⁶ Let your work be manifest to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and prosper for us the work of our hands—

O prosper the work of our hands!

Psalm 91

 ¹ You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,[190]

FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING

SCREWTAPE OFFERS A SHORT LESSON ON TIME AND ETERNITY:

But you must remember that he takes Time for an ultimate reality. He supposes that the Enemy, like himself, sees some things as present, remembers others as past, and anticipates others as future; or even if he believes that the Enemy does not see things that way, yet, in his heart of hearts, he regards this as a peculiarity of the Enemy’s mode of perception—he doesn’t really think (though he would say he did) that things as the Enemy sees them are things as they are! If you tried to explain to him that men’s prayers today are one of the innumerable co-ordinates with which the Enemy harmonises the weather of tomorrow, he would reply that then the Enemy always knew men were going to make those prayers and, if so, they did not pray freely but were predestined to do so. And he would add that the weather on a given day can be traced back through its causes to the original creation of matter itself—so that the whole thing, both on the human and on the material side, is given “from the word go.” What he ought to say, of course, is obvious to us; that the problem of adapting the particular weather to the particular prayers is merely the appearance, at two points in his temporal mode of perception, of the total problem of adapting the whole spiritual universe to the whole corporeal universe; that creation in its entirety operates at every point of space and time, or rather that their kind of consciousness forces them to encounter the whole, self-consistent creative act as a series of successive events. Why that creative act leaves room for their free will is the problem of problems, the secret behind the Enemy’s nonsense about “Love.” How it does so is no problem at all; for the Enemy does not foresee the humans making their free contributions in a future, but sees them doing so in His unbounded Now. And obviously to watch a man doing something is not to make him do it.

—from The Screwtape Letters

For reflection Psalm 90:2–4

 ² will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;

my God, in whom I trust.”

 ³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence;

 ⁴ he will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

 ⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,

or the arrow that flies by day,

 ⁶ or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

 ⁸ You will only look with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

 ⁹ Because you have made the LORD your refuge,[191]

the Most High your dwelling place,

¹⁰ no evil shall befall you,

no scourge come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

¹² On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder,

the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

¹⁴ Those who love me, I will deliver;

I will protect those who know my name.

¹⁵ When they call to me, I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will rescue them and honor them.

¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy them,

and show them my salvation.

Psalm 92

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.

 ¹ It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

 ² to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night,

 ³ to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

 ⁴ For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

 ⁵ How great are your works, O LORD!

Your thoughts are very deep!

 ⁶ The dullard cannot know,

the stupid cannot understand this:

 ⁷ though the wicked sprout like grass

and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction forever,

 ⁸      but you, O LORD, are on high forever.

 ⁹ For your enemies, O LORD,

for your enemies shall perish;

all evildoers shall be scattered.

¹⁰ But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;

you have poured over me[192] fresh oil.

¹¹ My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹² The righteous flourish like the palm tree,

and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³ They are planted in the house of the LORD;

they flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴ In old age they still produce fruit;

they are always green and full of sap,

¹⁵ showing that the LORD is upright;

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 93

 ¹ The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty;

the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength.

He has established the world; it shall never be moved;

 ²      your throne is established from of old;

you are from everlasting.

 ³ The floods have lifted up, O LORD,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their roaring.

 ⁴ More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,

more majestic than the waves[193] of the sea,

majestic on high is the LORD!

 ⁵ Your decrees are very sure;

holiness befits your house,

O LORD, forevermore.

Psalm 94

 ¹ O LORD, you God of vengeance,

you God of vengeance, shine forth!

 ² Rise up, O judge of the earth;

give to the proud what they deserve!

 ³ O LORD, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

 ⁴ They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

 ⁵ They crush your people, O LORD,

and afflict your heritage.

 ⁶ They kill the widow and the stranger,

they murder the orphan,

 ⁷ and they say, “The LORD does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

 ⁸ Understand, O dullest of the people;

fools, when will you be wise?

 ⁹ He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations,

he who teaches knowledge to humankind,

does he not chastise?

¹¹ The LORD knows our thoughts,[194]

that they are but an empty breath.

¹² Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD,

and whom you teach out of your law,

¹³ giving them respite from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴ For the LORD will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

¹⁵ for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

¹⁷ If the LORD had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

¹⁸ When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”

your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who contrive mischief by statute?

²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous,

and condemn the innocent to death.

²² But the LORD has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

²³ He will repay them for their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the LORD our God will wipe them out.

Psalm 95

 ¹ O come, let us sing to the LORD;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

 ² Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

 ³ For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

 ⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

 ⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,

and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

 ⁶ O come, let us worship and bow down,

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

 ⁷ For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

 ⁸      Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

 ⁹ when your ancestors tested me,

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,

and they do not regard my ways.”

¹¹ Therefore in my anger I swore,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

Psalm 96

 ¹ O sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

 ² Sing to the LORD, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

 ³ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

 ⁴ For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be revered above all gods.

 ⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

but the LORD made the heavens.

 ⁶ Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

 ⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

 ⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts.

 ⁹ Worship the LORD in holy splendor;

tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The LORD is king!

The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

¹²      let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

¹³      before the LORD; for he is coming,

for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with his truth.

For reflection: Psalm 96:1–13

Beauty descends from God into nature: but there it would perish and does except when a Man appreciates it with worship and thus as it were sends it back to God: so that through his consciousness what descended ascends again and the perfect circle is made.

—from a letter to Arthur Greeves, August 28, 1930

Psalm 97

 ¹ The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

 ² Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

 ³ Fire goes before him,

and consumes his adversaries on every side.

 ⁴ His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

 ⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,

before the Lord of all the earth.

 ⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;

and all the peoples behold his glory.

 ⁷ All worshipers of images are put to shame,

those who make their boast in worthless idols;

all gods bow down before him.

 ⁸ Zion hears and is glad,

and the towns[195] of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O God.

 ⁹ For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ The LORD loves those who hate[196] evil;

he guards the lives of his faithful;

he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light dawns[197] for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

For reflection: Psalm 97:1–12

It is most really and truly in Abraham that all people shall be blessed, for it was the Jews who fully and unambiguously identified the awful Presence haunting black mountain-tops and thunderclouds with “the righteous Lord” who “loveth righteousness.”

—from The Problem of Pain

¹² Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 98

A Psalm.

 ¹ O sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm

have gotten him victory.

 ² The LORD has made known his victory;

he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

 ³ He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness

to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the victory of our God.

 ⁴ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;

break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

 ⁵ Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,

with the lyre and the sound of melody.

 ⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn

make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.

 ⁷ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

the world and those who live in it.

 ⁸ Let the floods clap their hands;

let the hills sing together for joy

 ⁹ at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming

to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 99

 ¹ The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

 ² The LORD is great in Zion;

he is exalted over all the peoples.

 ³ Let them praise your great and awesome name.

Holy is he!

 ⁴ Mighty King,[198] lover of justice,

you have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

 ⁵ Extol the LORD our God;

worship at his footstool.

Holy is he!

 ⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel also was among those who called on his name.

They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.

 ⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;

they kept his decrees,

and the statutes that he gave them.

 ⁸ O LORD our God, you answered them;

you were a forgiving God to them,

but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

 ⁹ Extol the LORD our God,

and worship at his holy mountain;

for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

 ¹ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

 ²      Worship the LORD with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

 ³ Know that the LORD is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his;[199]

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

 ⁵ For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 101

Of David. A Psalm.

 ¹ I will sing of loyalty and of justice;

to you, O LORD, I will sing.

 ² I will study the way that is blameless.

When shall I attain it?

I will walk with integrity of heart

within my house;

 ³ I will not set before my eyes

anything that is base.

I hate the work of those who fall away;

it shall not cling to me.

 ⁴ Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;

I will know nothing of evil.

 ⁵ One who secretly slanders a neighbor

I will destroy.

A haughty look and an arrogant heart

I will not tolerate.

 ⁶ I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

so that they may live with me;

whoever walks in the way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

 ⁷ No one who practices deceit

shall remain in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall continue in my presence.

 ⁸ Morning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

cutting off all evildoers

from the city of the LORD.

Psalm 102

A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the LORD.

 ¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry come to you.

 ² Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call.

 ³ For my days pass away like smoke,

and my bones burn like a furnace.

 ⁴ My heart is stricken and withered like grass;

I am too wasted to eat my bread.

 ⁵ Because of my loud groaning

my bones cling to my skin.

 ⁶ I am like an owl of the wilderness,

like a little owl of the waste places.

 ⁷ I lie awake;

I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.

 ⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who deride me use my name for a curse.

 ⁹ For I eat ashes like bread,

and mingle tears with my drink,

¹⁰ because of your indignation and anger;

for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.

¹¹ My days are like an evening shadow;

I wither away like grass.

¹² But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;

your name endures to all generations.

¹³ You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to favor it;

the appointed time has come.

¹⁴ For your servants hold its stones dear,

and have pity on its dust.

¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the LORD,

and all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁶ For the LORD will build up Zion;

he will appear in his glory.

¹⁷ He will regard the prayer of the destitute,

and will not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for a generation to come,

so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:

¹⁹ that he looked down from his holy height,

from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,

²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners,

to set free those who were doomed to die;

²¹ so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,

and his praise in Jerusalem,

²² when peoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he has shortened my days.

²⁴ “O my God,” I say, “do not take me away

at the midpoint of my life,

you whose years endure

throughout all generations.”

²⁵ Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶ They will perish, but you endure;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You change them like clothing, and they pass away;

²⁷      but you are the same, and your years have no end.

²⁸ The children of your servants shall live secure;

their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Psalm 103

Of David.

 ¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name.

 ² Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and do not forget all his benefits—

 ³ who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

 ⁴ who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

 ⁵ who satisfies you with good as long as you live[200]

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 ⁶ The LORD works vindication

and justice for all who are oppressed.

 ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

 ⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

 ⁹ He will not always accuse,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,

so far he removes our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion for his children,

so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.

¹⁴ For he knows how we were made;

he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for mortals, their days are like grass;

they flourish like a flower of the field;

¹⁶ for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children’s children,

¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

obedient to his spoken word.

²¹ Bless the LORD, all his hosts,

his ministers that do his will.

²² Bless the LORD, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

For reflection: Psalm 103:17–22

I was not born to be free—I was born to adore and obey.

—from C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences

Psalm 104

 ¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul.

O LORD my God, you are very great.

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

 ²      wrapped in light as with a garment.

You stretch out the heavens like a tent,

 ³      you set the beams of your[201] chambers on the waters,

you make the clouds your[201] chariot,

you ride on the wings of the wind,

 ⁴ you make the winds your[201] messengers,

fire and flame your[201] ministers.

 ⁵ You set the earth on its foundations,

so that it shall never be shaken.

 ⁶ You cover it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

 ⁷ At your rebuke they flee;

at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

 ⁸ They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys

to the place that you appointed for them.

 ⁹ You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills,

¹¹ giving drink to every wild animal;

the wild asses quench their thirst.

¹² By the streams[202] the birds of the air have their habitation;

they sing among the branches.

¹³ From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to use,[203]

to bring forth food from the earth,

¹⁵      and wine to gladden the human heart,

oil to make the face shine,

and bread to strengthen the human heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

¹⁷ In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has its home in the fir trees.

¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

¹⁹ You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

²⁰ You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

²¹ The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

²² When the sun rises, they withdraw

and lie down in their dens.

²³ People go out to their work

and to their labor until the evening.

²⁴ O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵ Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

creeping things innumerable are there,

living things both small and great.

²⁶ There go the ships,

and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

²⁷ These all look to you

to give them their food in due season;

²⁸ when you give to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

²⁹ When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die

and return to their dust.

³⁰ When you send forth your spirit,[204] they are created;

and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works—

³² who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 105

 ¹ O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

 ² Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wonderful works.

 ³ Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

 ⁴ Seek the LORD and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

 ⁵ Remember the wonderful works he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,

 ⁶ O offspring of his servant Abraham,[205]

children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 ⁷ He is the LORD our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

 ⁸ He is mindful of his covenant forever,

of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

 ⁹ the covenant that he made with Abraham,

his sworn promise to Isaac,

¹⁰ which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

¹¹ saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

as your portion for an inheritance.”

¹² When they were few in number,

of little account, and strangers in it,

¹³ wandering from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another people,

¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rebuked kings on their account,

¹⁵ saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;

do my prophets no harm.”

¹⁶ When he summoned famine against the land,

and broke every staff of bread,

¹⁷ he had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

¹⁸ His feet were hurt with fetters,

his neck was put in a collar of iron;

¹⁹ until what he had said came to pass,

the word of the LORD kept testing him.

²⁰ The king sent and released him;

the ruler of the peoples set him free.

²¹ He made him lord of his house,

and ruler of all his possessions,

²² to instruct[206] his officials at his pleasure,

and to teach his elders wisdom.

²³ Then Israel came to Egypt;

Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.

²⁴ And the LORD made his people very fruitful,

and made them stronger than their foes,

²⁵ whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,

to deal craftily with his servants.

²⁶ He sent his servant Moses,

and Aaron whom he had chosen.

²⁷ They performed his signs among them,

and miracles in the land of Ham.

²⁸ He sent darkness, and made the land dark;

they rebelled[207] against his words.

²⁹ He turned their waters into blood,

and caused their fish to die.

³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs,

even in the chambers of their kings.

³¹ He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

and gnats throughout their country.

³² He gave them hail for rain,

and lightning that flashed through their land.

³³ He struck their vines and fig trees,

and shattered the trees of their country.

³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came,

and young locusts without number;

³⁵ they devoured all the vegetation in their land,

and ate up the fruit of their ground.

³⁶ He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the first issue of all their strength.

³⁷ Then he brought Israel[208] out with silver and gold,

and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.

³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed,

for dread of them had fallen upon it.

³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering,

and fire to give light by night.

⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought quails,

and gave them food from heaven in abundance.

⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed through the desert like a river.

⁴² For he remembered his holy promise,

and Abraham, his servant.

⁴³ So he brought his people out with joy,

his chosen ones with singing.

⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations,

and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,

⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes

and observe his laws.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 106

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

 ² Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD,

or declare all his praise?

 ³ Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

 ⁴ Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you deliver them;

 ⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory in your heritage.

THEY ASKED, AND HE BROUGHT

Petitionary prayer is, nonetheless, both allowed and commanded to us: “Give us our daily bread.” And no doubt it raises a theoretical problem. Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of men? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it. But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate. He could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers; or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaries. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to co-operate in the execution of His will.

—from “The Efficacy of Prayer,” The World’s Last Night and Other Essays

For reflection Psalm 105:40–42

 ⁶ Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

 ⁷ Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

but rebelled against the Most High[209] at the Red Sea.[210]

 ⁸ Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

so that he might make known his mighty power.

 ⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea,[210] and it became dry;

he led them through the deep as through a desert.

¹⁰ So he saved them from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

¹² Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.

¹³ But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.

¹⁴ But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

¹⁵ he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶ They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

and of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.

¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the faction of Abiram.

¹⁸ Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast image.

²⁰ They exchanged the glory of God[211]

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹ They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

²² wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[210]

²³ Therefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴ Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise.

²⁵ They grumbled in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the LORD.

²⁶ Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

²⁷ and would disperse[212] their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.

²⁸ Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

²⁹ they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

and the plague was stopped.

³¹ And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

³² They angered the LORD[213] at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account;

³³ for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.

IMPLACABLE HOSTILITY TOWARDS SIN

For we can still see, in the worst of their maledictions, how these old poets were, in a sense, near to God. Though hideously distorted by the human instrument, something of the Divine voice can be heard in these passages. Not, of course, that God looks upon their enemies as they do: He “desireth not the death of a sinner.” But doubtless He has for the sin of those enemies just the implacable hostility which the poets express. Implacable? Yes, not to the sinner but to the sin. It will not be tolerated nor condoned, no treaty will be made with it. That tooth must come out, that right hand must be amputated, if the man is to be saved. In that way the relentlessness of the Psalmists is far nearer to one side of the truth than many modern attitudes which can be mistaken, by those who hold them, for Christian charity.

—from Reflections on the Psalms

For reflection Psalm 106:1–48

³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples,

as the LORD commanded them,

³⁵ but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

³⁶ They served their idols,

which became a snare to them.

³⁷ They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;

³⁸ they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹ Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and prostituted themselves in their doings.

⁴⁰ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

⁴¹ he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴² Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

⁴³ Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

⁴⁴ Nevertheless he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.

⁴⁵ For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁴⁶ He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.

⁴⁷ Save us, O LORD our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the LORD!

BOOK V

Psalm 107

 ¹ O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

 ² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

those he redeemed from trouble

 ³ and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.[214]

 ⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to an inhabited town;

 ⁵ hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

 ⁶ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

 ⁷ he led them by a straight way,

until they reached an inhabited town.

 ⁸ Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

 ⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty,

and the hungry he fills with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in gloom,

prisoners in misery and in irons,

¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

¹² Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;

they fell down, with no one to help.

¹³ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;

¹⁴ he brought them out of darkness and gloom,

and broke their bonds asunder.

¹⁵ Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

¹⁶ For he shatters the doors of bronze,

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were sick[215] through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities endured affliction;

¹⁸ they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;

²⁰ he sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from destruction.

²¹ Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

²² And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

²³ Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the mighty waters;

²⁴ they saw the deeds of the LORD,

his wondrous works in the deep.

²⁵ For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

²⁶ They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their calamity;

²⁷ they reeled and staggered like drunkards,

and were at their wits’ end.

²⁸ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he brought them out from their distress;

²⁹ he made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰ Then they were glad because they had quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

³¹ Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

³² Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.

³⁶ And there he lets the hungry live,

and they establish a town to live in;

³⁷ they sow fields, and plant vineyards,

and get a fruitful yield.

³⁸ By his blessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes

and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of distress,

and makes their families like flocks.

⁴² The upright see it and are glad;

and all wickedness stops its mouth.

⁴³ Let those who are wise give heed to these things,

and consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Psalm 108

A Song. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;[216]

I will sing and make melody.

Awake, my soul![217]

 ² Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn.

 ³ I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples,

and I will sing praises to you among the nations.

 ⁴ For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,

and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

 ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

and let your glory be over all the earth.

 ⁶ Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,

so that those whom you love may be rescued.

 ⁷ God has promised in his sanctuary:[218]

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,

and portion out the Vale of Succoth.

 ⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet;

Judah is my scepter.

 ⁹ Moab is my washbasin;

on Edom I hurl my shoe;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹ Have you not rejected us, O God?

You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

¹² O grant us help against the foe,

for human help is worthless.

¹³ With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 109

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

 ¹ Do not be silent, O God of my praise.

 ² For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

 ³ They beset me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

 ⁴ In return for my love they accuse me,

even while I make prayer for them.[219]

 ⁵ So they reward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

 ⁶ They say,[220] “Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser stand on his right.

 ⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin.

 ⁸ May his days be few;

may another seize his position.

 ⁹ May his children be orphans,

and his wife a widow.

¹⁰ May his children wander about and beg;

may they be driven out of[221] the ruins they inhabit.

¹¹ May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.

¹² May there be no one to do him a kindness,

nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.

¹³ May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation.

¹⁴ May the iniquity of his father[222] be remembered before the LORD,

and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵ Let them be before the LORD continually,

and may his[223] memory be cut off from the earth.

¹⁶ For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted to their death.

¹⁷ He loved to curse; let curses come on him.

He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.

¹⁸ He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,

may it soak into his body like water,

like oil into his bones.

¹⁹ May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself,

like a belt that he wears every day.”

²⁰ May that be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,

of those who speak evil against my life.

²¹ But you, O LORD my Lord,

act on my behalf for your name’s sake;

because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.

²² For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is pierced within me.

UNDISGUISED HATRED

At the outset I felt sure, and I feel sure still, that we must not either try to explain them away or to yield for one moment to the idea that, because it comes in the Bible, all this vindictive hatred must somehow be good and pious. We must face both facts squarely. The hatred is there—festering, gloating, undisguised—and also we should be wicked if we in any way condoned or approved it, or (worse still) used it to justify similar passions in ourselves.

—from Reflections on the Psalms

For reflection Psalm 109:1–20

²³ I am gone like a shadow at evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴ My knees are weak through fasting;

my body has become gaunt.

²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶ Help me, O LORD my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love.

²⁷ Let them know that this is your hand;

you, O LORD, have done it.

²⁸ Let them curse, but you will bless.

Let my assailants be put to shame;[224] may your servant be glad.

²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;

may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.

³⁰ With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

³¹ For he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

Psalm 110

Of David. A Psalm.

 ¹ The LORD says to my lord,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

 ² The LORD sends out from Zion

your mighty scepter.

Rule in the midst of your foes.

 ³ Your people will offer themselves willingly

on the day you lead your forces

on the holy mountains.[225]

From the womb of the morning,

like dew, your youth[226] will come to you.

 ⁴ The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”[227]

 ⁵ The Lord is at your right hand;

he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

 ⁶ He will execute judgment among the nations,

filling them with corpses;

he will shatter heads

over the wide earth.

 ⁷ He will drink from the stream by the path;

therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 111

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

 ² Great are the works of the LORD,

studied by all who delight in them.

 ³ Full of honor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever.

 ⁴ He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;

the LORD is gracious and merciful.

 ⁵ He provides food for those who fear him;

he is ever mindful of his covenant.

 ⁶ He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the heritage of the nations.

 ⁷ The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy.

 ⁸ They are established forever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

 ⁹ He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it[228] have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever.

Psalm 112

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Happy are those who fear the LORD,

who greatly delight in his commandments.

 ² Their descendants will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

 ³ Wealth and riches are in their houses,

and their righteousness endures forever.

 ⁴ They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;

they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.

 ⁵ It is well with those who deal generously and lend,

who conduct their affairs with justice.

 ⁶ For the righteous will never be moved;

they will be remembered forever.

 ⁷ They are not afraid of evil tidings;

their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.

 ⁸ Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;

in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

 ⁹ They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever;

their horn is exalted in honor.

¹⁰ The wicked see it and are angry;

they gnash their teeth and melt away;

the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Psalm 113

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise, O servants of the LORD;

praise the name of the LORD.

 ² Blessed be the name of the LORD

from this time on and forevermore.

 ³ From the rising of the sun to its setting

the name of the LORD is to be praised.

 ⁴ The LORD is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens.

 ⁵ Who is like the LORD our God,

who is seated on high,

 ⁶ who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

 ⁷ He raises the poor from the dust,

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

 ⁸ to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

 ⁹ He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 114

 ¹ When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

 ² Judah became God’s[229] sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

 ³ The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back.

 ⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

 ⁵ Why is it, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

 ⁶ O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

 ⁷ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,

 ⁸ who turns the rock into a pool of water,

the flint into a spring of water.

Psalm 115

 ¹ Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,

for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

 ² Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

 ³ Our God is in the heavens;

he does whatever he pleases.

 ⁴ Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

 ⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see.

 ⁶ They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

 ⁷ They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

they make no sound in their throats.

 ⁸ Those who make them are like them;

so are all who trust in them.

 ⁹ O Israel, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

¹¹ You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

¹² The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us;

he will bless the house of Israel;

he will bless the house of Aaron;

¹³ he will bless those who fear the LORD,

both small and great.

¹⁴ May the LORD give you increase,

both you and your children.

¹⁵ May you be blessed by the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,

but the earth he has given to human beings.

¹⁷ The dead do not praise the LORD,

nor do any that go down into silence.

¹⁸ But we will bless the LORD

from this time on and forevermore.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 116

 ¹ I love the LORD, because he has heard

my voice and my supplications.

 ² Because he inclined his ear to me,

therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

 ³ The snares of death encompassed me;

the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

I suffered distress and anguish.

 ⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:

“O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

 ⁵ Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

our God is merciful.

 ⁶ The LORD protects the simple;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

 ⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest,

for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

 ⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling.

 ⁹ I walk before the LORD

in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I kept my faith, even when I said,

“I am greatly afflicted”;

¹¹ I said in my consternation,

“Everyone is a liar.”

¹² What shall I return to the LORD

for all his bounty to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the LORD,

¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his faithful ones.

¹⁶ O LORD, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.

You have loosed my bonds.

¹⁷ I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice

and call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the LORD,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 117

 ¹ Praise the LORD, all you nations!

Extol him, all you peoples!

 ² For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 118

 ¹ O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever!

 ² Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

 ³ Let the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

 ⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

 ⁵ Out of my distress I called on the LORD;

the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.

 ⁶ With the LORD on my side I do not fear.

What can mortals do to me?

 ⁷ The LORD is on my side to help me;

I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

 ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to put confidence in mortals.

 ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰ All nations surrounded me;

in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

¹¹ They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;

in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

¹² They surrounded me like bees;

they blazed[230] like a fire of thorns;

in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

¹³ I was pushed hard,[231] so that I was falling,

but the LORD helped me.

¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my might;

he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;

¹⁶      the right hand of the LORD is exalted;

the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”

¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live,

and recount the deeds of the LORD.

¹⁸ The LORD has punished me severely,

but he did not give me over to death.

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the LORD.

²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD;

the righteous shall enter through it.

²¹ I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

²² The stone that the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

²³ This is the LORD’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day that the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.[232]

²⁵ Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!

O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!

²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.[233]

We bless you from the house of the LORD.

²⁷ The LORD is God,

and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches,

up to the horns of the altar.[234]

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God, I will extol you.

²⁹ O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 119

 ¹ Happy are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD.

 ² Happy are those who keep his decrees,

who seek him with their whole heart,

 ³ who also do no wrong,

but walk in his ways.

 ⁴ You have commanded your precepts

to be kept diligently.

 ⁵ O that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes!

 ⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame,

having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

 ⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous ordinances.

 ⁸ I will observe your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me.

 ⁹ How can young people keep their way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;

do not let me stray from your commandments.

¹¹ I treasure your word in my heart,

so that I may not sin against you.

¹² Blessed are you, O LORD;

teach me your statutes.

¹³ With my lips I declare

all the ordinances of your mouth.

¹⁴ I delight in the way of your decrees

as much as in all riches.

¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts,

and fix my eyes on your ways.

¹⁶ I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.

¹⁷ Deal bountifully with your servant,

so that I may live and observe your word.

¹⁸ Open my eyes, so that I may behold

wondrous things out of your law.

¹⁹ I live as an alien in the land;

do not hide your commandments from me.

²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing

for your ordinances at all times.

²¹ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,

who wander from your commandments;

²² take away from me their scorn and contempt,

for I have kept your decrees.

²³ Even though princes sit plotting against me,

your servant will meditate on your statutes.

²⁴ Your decrees are my delight,

they are my counselors.

²⁵ My soul clings to the dust;

revive me according to your word.

²⁶ When I told of my ways, you answered me;

teach me your statutes.

²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts,

and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

²⁸ My soul melts away for sorrow;

strengthen me according to your word.

²⁹ Put false ways far from me;

and graciously teach me your law.

³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I set your ordinances before me.

³¹ I cling to your decrees, O LORD;

let me not be put to shame.

³² I run the way of your commandments,

for you enlarge my understanding.

³³ Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes,

and I will observe it to the end.

PRAYER—A DUTY OR A DELIGHT?

Well, let’s now at any rate come clean. Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish. While we are at prayer, but not while we are reading a novel or solving a cross-word puzzle, any trifle is enough to distract us. . . .

Now the disquieting thing is not simply that we skimp and begrudge the duty of prayer. The really disquieting thing is it should have to be numbered among duties at all. For we believe that we were created “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And if the few, the very few, minutes we now spend on intercourse with God are a burden to us rather than a delight, what then? . . .

The painful effort which prayer involves is no proof that we are doing something we were not created to do.

If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be delight. Some day, please God, it will be.

—from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

For reflection Psalm 119:33–40

³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments,

for I delight in it.

³⁶ Turn my heart to your decrees,

and not to selfish gain.

³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;

give me life in your ways.

³⁸ Confirm to your servant your promise,

which is for those who fear you.

³⁹ Turn away the disgrace that I dread,

for your ordinances are good.

⁴⁰ See, I have longed for your precepts;

in your righteousness give me life.

⁴¹ Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,

your salvation according to your promise.

⁴² Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,

for I trust in your word.

⁴³ Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,

for my hope is in your ordinances.

⁴⁴ I will keep your law continually,

forever and ever.

⁴⁵ I shall walk at liberty,

for I have sought your precepts.

⁴⁶ I will also speak of your decrees before kings,

and shall not be put to shame;

⁴⁷ I find my delight in your commandments,

because I love them.

⁴⁸ I revere your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on your statutes.

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,

in which you have made me hope.

⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my distress,

that your promise gives me life.

⁵¹ The arrogant utterly deride me,

but I do not turn away from your law.

⁵² When I think of your ordinances from of old,

I take comfort, O LORD.

⁵³ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,

those who forsake your law.

⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs

wherever I make my home.

⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O LORD,

and keep your law.

⁵⁶ This blessing has fallen to me,

for I have kept your precepts.

⁵⁷ The LORD is my portion;

I promise to keep your words.

⁵⁸ I implore your favor with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to your promise.

⁵⁹ When I think of your ways,

I turn my feet to your decrees;

⁶⁰ I hurry and do not delay

to keep your commandments.

⁶¹ Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

I do not forget your law.

⁶² At midnight I rise to praise you,

because of your righteous ordinances.

⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you,

of those who keep your precepts.

⁶⁴ The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;

teach me your statutes.

⁶⁵ You have dealt well with your servant,

O LORD, according to your word.

⁶⁶ Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in your commandments.

⁶⁷ Before I was humbled I went astray,

but now I keep your word.

⁶⁸ You are good and do good;

teach me your statutes.

⁶⁹ The arrogant smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.

⁷⁰ Their hearts are fat and gross,

but I delight in your law.

⁷¹ It is good for me that I was humbled,

so that I might learn your statutes.

⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me

than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

THE PRACTICE OF FAITH

Iwouldn’t quite say that “religious Practices help the search for truth” for that might imply that they have no further use when the Truth has been found. I think about the practices what a wise old priest said to me about a “rule of life” in general—“It is not a stair but a bannister” (or rail or balustrade—I don’t know what you call it in America), i.e. it is, not the thing you ascend by but it is a protective against falling off and a help-up. I think thus we ascend. The stair is God’s grace. One’s climb from step to step is obedience. Many different kinds of bannisters exist, all legitimate. It is possible to get up without any bannisters, if need be: but no one wd. willingly build a staircase without them because it would be less safe, more laborious, and a little lacking in beauty.

—from a letter to Mary Van Deusen, June [2]9, 1953

For reflection Psalm 119:57–64

⁷³ Your hands have made and fashioned me;

give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

⁷⁴ Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,

because I have hoped in your word.

⁷⁵ I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right,

and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.

⁷⁶ Let your steadfast love become my comfort

according to your promise to your servant.

⁷⁷ Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;

for your law is my delight.

⁷⁸ Let the arrogant be put to shame,

because they have subverted me with guile;

as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

⁷⁹ Let those who fear you turn to me,

so that they may know your decrees.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in your statutes,

so that I may not be put to shame.

⁸¹ My soul languishes for your salvation;

I hope in your word.

⁸² My eyes fail with watching for your promise;

I ask, “When will you comfort me?”

⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,

yet I have not forgotten your statutes.

⁸⁴ How long must your servant endure?

When will you judge those who persecute me?

⁸⁵ The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;

they flout your law.

⁸⁶ All your commandments are enduring;

I am persecuted without cause; help me!

⁸⁷ They have almost made an end of me on earth;

but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸ In your steadfast love spare my life,

so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

⁸⁹ The LORD exists forever;

your word is firmly fixed in heaven.

⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

 ⁹¹ By your appointment they stand today,

for all things are your servants.

 ⁹² If your law had not been my delight,

I would have perished in my misery.

 ⁹³ I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have given me life.

 ⁹⁴ I am yours; save me,

for I have sought your precepts.

 ⁹⁵ The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

but I consider your decrees.

 ⁹⁶ I have seen a limit to all perfection,

but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

 ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law!

It is my meditation all day long.

 ⁹⁸ Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is always with me.

 ⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your decrees are my meditation.

¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged,

for I keep your precepts.

¹⁰¹ I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep your word.

¹⁰² I do not turn away from your ordinances,

for you have taught me.

¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴ Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to observe your righteous ordinances.

¹⁰⁷ I am severely afflicted;

give me life, O LORD, according to your word.

¹⁰⁸ Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD,

and teach me your ordinances.

¹⁰⁹ I hold my life in my hand continually,

YOUR WORD IS A LAMP TO MY FEET

Ithink we all see pretty well what the Psalmists mean. They mean that in the Law you find the “real” or “correct” or stable, well-grounded, directions for living. The law answers the question “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” (119, 9). It is like a lamp, a guide (105). There are many rival directions for living, as the Pagan cultures all round us show. When the poets call the directions or “rulings” of Jahweh “true” they are expressing the assurance that these, and not those others, are the “real” or “valid” or unassailable ones; that they are based on the very nature of things and the very nature of God.

—from Reflections on the Psalms

For reflection Psalm 119:97–112

but I do not forget your law.

¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but I do not stray from your precepts.

¹¹¹ Your decrees are my heritage forever;

they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹² I incline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, to the end.

¹¹³ I hate the double-minded,

but I love your law.

¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in your word.

¹¹⁵ Go away from me, you evildoers,

that I may keep the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,

and let me not be put to shame in my hope.

¹¹⁷ Hold me up, that I may be safe

and have regard for your statutes continually.

¹¹⁸ You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;

for their cunning is in vain.

¹¹⁹ All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;

therefore I love your decrees.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of you,

and I am afraid of your judgments.

¹²¹ I have done what is just and right;

do not leave me to my oppressors.

¹²² Guarantee your servant’s well-being;

do not let the godless oppress me.

¹²³ My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,

and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,

and teach me your statutes.

¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding,

so that I may know your decrees.

¹²⁶ It is time for the LORD to act,

for your law has been broken.

¹²⁷ Truly I love your commandments

more than gold, more than fine gold.

¹²⁸ Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;[235]

I hate every false way.

¹²⁹ Your decrees are wonderful;

therefore my soul keeps them.

¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light;

it imparts understanding to the simple.

¹³¹ With open mouth I pant,

because I long for your commandments.

¹³² Turn to me and be gracious to me,

as is your custom toward those who love your name.

¹³³ Keep my steps steady according to your promise,

and never let iniquity have dominion over me.

¹³⁴ Redeem me from human oppression,

that I may keep your precepts.

¹³⁵ Make your face shine upon your servant,

and teach me your statutes.

¹³⁶ My eyes shed streams of tears

because your law is not kept.

¹³⁷ You are righteous, O LORD,

and your judgments are right.

¹³⁸ You have appointed your decrees in righteousness

and in all faithfulness.

¹³⁹ My zeal consumes me

because my foes forget your words.

¹⁴⁰ Your promise is well tried,

and your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹ I am small and despised,

yet I do not forget your precepts.

¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

and your law is the truth.

¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

but your commandments are my delight.

¹⁴⁴ Your decrees are righteous forever;

give me understanding that I may live.

¹⁴⁵ With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD.

I will keep your statutes.

¹⁴⁶ I cry to you; save me,

that I may observe your decrees.

¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I put my hope in your words.

¹⁴⁸ My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,

that I may meditate on your promise.

¹⁴⁹ In your steadfast love hear my voice;

O LORD, in your justice preserve my life.

¹⁵⁰ Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;

they are far from your law.

¹⁵¹ Yet you are near, O LORD,

and all your commandments are true.

¹⁵² Long ago I learned from your decrees

that you have established them forever.

¹⁵³ Look on my misery and rescue me,

for I do not forget your law.

¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause and redeem me;

give me life according to your promise.

¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not seek your statutes.

¹⁵⁶ Great is your mercy, O LORD;

give me life according to your justice.

¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

yet I do not swerve from your decrees.

¹⁵⁸ I look at the faithless with disgust,

because they do not keep your commands.

¹⁵⁹ Consider how I love your precepts;

preserve my life according to your steadfast love.

¹⁶⁰ The sum of your word is truth;

and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

¹⁶¹ Princes persecute me without cause,

but my heart stands in awe of your words.

¹⁶² I rejoice at your word

like one who finds great spoil.

¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love your law.

¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you

for your righteous ordinances.

¹⁶⁵ Great peace have those who love your law;

nothing can make them stumble.

¹⁶⁶ I hope for your salvation, O LORD,

and I fulfill your commandments.

¹⁶⁷ My soul keeps your decrees;

I love them exceedingly.

¹⁶⁸ I keep your precepts and decrees,

for all my ways are before you.

¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, O LORD;

give me understanding according to your word.

¹⁷⁰ Let my supplication come before you;

deliver me according to your promise.

¹⁷¹ My lips will pour forth praise,

because you teach me your statutes.

¹⁷² My tongue will sing of your promise,

for all your commandments are right.

¹⁷³ Let your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen your precepts.

¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, O LORD,

and your law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise you,

and let your ordinances help me.

¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,

for I do not forget your commandments.

Psalm 120

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ In my distress I cry to the LORD,

that he may answer me:

 ² “Deliver me, O LORD,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.”

 ³ What shall be given to you?

And what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

 ⁴ A warrior’s sharp arrows,

with glowing coals of the broom tree!

 ⁵ Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,

that I must live among the tents of Kedar.

 ⁶ Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

 ⁷ I am for peace;

but when I speak,

they are for war.

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—

from where will my help come?

 ² My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

 ³ He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

 ⁴ He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

 ⁵ The LORD is your keeper;

the LORD is your shade at your right hand.

 ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

 ⁸ The LORD will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

Psalm 122

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

 ¹ I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

 ² Our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

 ³ Jerusalem—built as a city

that is bound firmly together.

 ⁴ To it the tribes go up,

the tribes of the LORD,

as was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

 ⁵ For there the thrones for judgment were set up,

the thrones of the house of David.

 ⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

 ⁷ Peace be within your walls,

and security within your towers.”

 ⁸ For the sake of my relatives and friends

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

 ⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,

I will seek your good.

Psalm 123

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ To you I lift up my eyes,

O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

 ² As the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

until he has mercy upon us.

 ³ Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of contempt.

 ⁴ Our soul has had more than its fill

of the scorn of those who are at ease,

of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

 ¹ If it had not been the LORD who was on our side

—let Israel now say—

 ² if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

when our enemies attacked us,

 ³ then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

 ⁴ then the flood would have swept us away,

the torrent would have gone over us;

 ⁵ then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

 ⁶ Blessed be the LORD,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth.

 ⁷ We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped.

 ⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

 ² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds his people,

from this time on and forevermore.

 ³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

on the land allotted to the righteous,

so that the righteous might not stretch out

their hands to do wrong.

 ⁴ Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,

and to those who are upright in their hearts.

 ⁵ But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways

the LORD will lead away with evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 126

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,[236]

we were like those who dream.

 ² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

 ³ The LORD has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

 ⁴ Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

 ⁵ May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

 ⁶ Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

 ¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD guards the city,

the guard keeps watch in vain.

 ² It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives sleep to his beloved.[237]

 ³ Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

 ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons of one’s youth.

 ⁵ Happy is the man who has

his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

THE MASTER BUILDER

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

—from Mere Christianity

For reflection Psalm 127:1

Psalm 128

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ Happy is everyone who fears the LORD,

who walks in his ways.

 ² You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

 ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

around your table.

 ⁴ Thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the LORD.

 ⁵ The LORD bless you from Zion.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life.

 ⁶ May you see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ “Often have they attacked me from my youth”

—let Israel now say—

 ² “often have they attacked me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me.

 ³ The plowers plowed on my back;

they made their furrows long.”

 ⁴ The LORD is righteous;

he has cut the cords of the wicked.

 ⁵ May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward.

 ⁶ Let them be like the grass on the housetops

that withers before it grows up,

 ⁷ with which reapers do not fill their hands

or binders of sheaves their arms,

 ⁸ while those who pass by do not say,

“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.

 ²      Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplications!

 ³ If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

 ⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,

so that you may be revered.

 ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

 ⁶ my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

 ⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD!

For with the LORD there is steadfast love,

and with him is great power to redeem.

 ⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel

from all its iniquities.

Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

 ¹ O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me.

 ² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.[238]

 ³ O Israel, hope in the LORD

from this time on and forevermore.

Psalm 132

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ O LORD, remember in David’s favor

all the hardships he endured;

 ² how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

 ³ “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

 ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

 ⁵ until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

 ⁶ We heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

 ⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool.”

 ⁸ Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

 ⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

¹⁰ For your servant David’s sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹ The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

¹² If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

shall sit on your throne.”

¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

¹⁵ I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

¹⁶ Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

¹⁷ There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam.”

Psalm 133

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ How very good and pleasant it is

when kindred live together in unity!

 ² It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down upon the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down over the collar of his robes.

 ³ It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion.

For there the LORD ordained his blessing,

life forevermore.

Psalm 134

A Song of Ascents.

 ¹ Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,

who stand by night in the house of the LORD!

 ² Lift up your hands to the holy place,

and bless the LORD.

 ³ May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.

LIVING TOGETHER IN UNITY

We are all rightly distressed, and ashamed also, at the divisions of Christendom. But those who have always lived within the Christian fold may be too easily dispirited by them. They are bad, but such people do not know what it looks like from without. Seen from there, what is left intact despite all the divisions, still appears (as it truly is) an immensely formidable unity. I know, for I saw it; and well our enemies know it. That unity any of us can find by going out of his own age. It is not enough, but it is more than you had thought till then. Once you are well soaked in it, if you then venture to speak, you will have an amusing experience. You will be thought a Papist when you are actually reproducing Bunyan, a Pantheist when you are quoting Aquinas, and so forth. For you have now got on to the great level viaduct which crosses the ages and which looks so high from the valleys, so low from the mountains, so narrow compared with the swamps, and so broad compared with the sheep-tracks.

—from the introduction to On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius

For reflection Psalm 133:1

Psalm 135

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise the name of the LORD;

give praise, O servants of the LORD,

 ² you that stand in the house of the LORD,

in the courts of the house of our God.

 ³ Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;

sing to his name, for he is gracious.

 ⁴ For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,

Israel as his own possession.

 ⁵ For I know that the LORD is great;

our Lord is above all gods.

 ⁶ Whatever the LORD pleases he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

 ⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;

he makes lightnings for the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

 ⁸ He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

both human beings and animals;

 ⁹ he sent signs and wonders

into your midst, O Egypt,

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰ He struck down many nations

and killed mighty kings—

¹¹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,

and Og, king of Bashan,

and all the kingdoms of Canaan—

¹² and gave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

¹³ Your name, O LORD, endures forever,

your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.

¹⁴ For the LORD will vindicate his people,

and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak;

they have eyes, but they do not see;

¹⁷ they have ears, but they do not hear,

and there is no breath in their mouths.

¹⁸ Those who make them

and all who trust them

shall become like them.

¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless the LORD!

O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!

²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the LORD!

You that fear the LORD, bless the LORD!

²¹ Blessed be the LORD from Zion,

he who resides in Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 136

 ¹ O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

 ² O give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

 ³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁴ who alone does great wonders,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁵ who by understanding made the heavens,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁶ who spread out the earth on the waters,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁷ who made the great lights,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁸ the sun to rule over the day,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 ⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰ who struck Egypt through their firstborn,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹² with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹³ who divided the Red Sea[239] in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁵ but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,[239]

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁶ who led his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁷ who struck down great kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

REVERING THE LORD

Because God created the Natural—invented it out of His love and artistry—it demands our reverence; because it is only a creature and not He, it is, from another point of view, of little account. And still more, because Nature, and especially human nature, is fallen it must be corrected and the evil within it must be mortified. But its essence is good; correction is something quite different from Manichaean repudiation or Stoic superiority. Hence, in all true Christian asceticism, that respect for the thing rejected which, I think, we never find in pagan asceticism. Marriage is good, though not for me; wine is good, though I must not drink it; feasts are good, though today we fast.

—from “Some Thoughts,” God in the Dock

For reflection Psalm 136:1–26

OUR OWN INFANTILE WHIMPERINGS

Of the cursing Psalms I suppose most of us make our own moral allegories—well aware that these are personal and on a quite different level from the high matters I have been trying to handle. We know the proper object of utter hostility—wickedness, especially our own. Thus in 36, “My heart showeth me the wickedness of the ungodly,” each can reflect that his own heart is the specimen of that wickedness best known to him. After that, the upward plunge at verse 5 into the mercy high as heaven and the righteousness solid as the mountains takes on even more force and beauty. From this point of view I can use even the horrible passage in 137 about dashing the Babylonian babies against the stones. I know things in the inner world which are like babies; the infantile beginnings of small indulgences, small resentments, which may one day become dipsomania or settled hatred, but which woo us and wheedle us with special pleadings and seem so tiny, so helpless that in resisting them we feel we are being cruel to animals. They begin whimpering to us “I don’t ask much, but,” or “I had at least hoped,” or “you owe yourself some consideration.” Against all such pretty infants (the dears have such winning ways) the advice of the Psalm is the best. Knock the little bastards’ brains out. And “blessed” he who can, for it’s easier said than done.

—from Reflections on the Psalms

For reflection Psalm 137:1–9

¹⁸ and killed famous kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

²¹ and gave their land as a heritage,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

²² a heritage to his servant Israel,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

²³ It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁴ and rescued us from our foes,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁵ who gives food to all flesh,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶ O give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 137

 ¹ By the rivers of Babylon—

there we sat down and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.

 ² On the willows[240] there

we hung up our harps.

 ³ For there our captors

asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

 ⁴ How could we sing the LORD’s song

in a foreign land?

 ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand wither!

 ⁶ Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy.

 ⁷ Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem’s fall,

how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!

Down to its foundations!”

 ⁸ O daughter Babylon, you devastator![241]

Happy shall they be who pay you back

what you have done to us!

 ⁹ Happy shall they be who take your little ones

and dash them against the rock!

Psalm 138

Of David.

 ¹ I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

 ² I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;

for you have exalted your name and your word

above everything.[242]

 ³ On the day I called, you answered me,

you increased my strength of soul.[243]

 ⁴ All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,

for they have heard the words of your mouth.

 ⁵ They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,

for great is the glory of the LORD.

 ⁶ For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;

but the haughty he perceives from far away.

 ⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;

you stretch out your hand,

and your right hand delivers me.

 ⁸ The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 139

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

 ¹ O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

 ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from far away.

 ³ You search out my path and my lying down,

and are acquainted with all my ways.

 ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,

O LORD, you know it completely.

 ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is so high that I cannot attain it.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

 ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

 ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light around me become night,”

¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

¹⁵      My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

all the days that were formed for me,

when none of them as yet existed.

¹⁷ How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

I come to the end[244]—I am still with you.

¹⁹ O that you would kill the wicked, O God,

and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—

²⁰ those who speak of you maliciously,

BEING KNOWN

We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.

—from Mere Christianity

For reflection Psalm 139:1–24

and lift themselves up against you for evil![245]

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

²² I hate them with perfect hatred;

I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any wicked[246] way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.[247]

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;

protect me from those who are violent,

 ² who plan evil things in their minds

and stir up wars continually.

 ³ They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,

and under their lips is the venom of vipers.

Selah

 ⁴ Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from the violent

who have planned my downfall.

 ⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net,[248]

along the road they have set snares for me.

Selah

 ⁶ I say to the LORD, “You are my God;

give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”

 ⁷ O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

 ⁸ Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their evil plot.[249]

Selah

 ⁹ Those who surround me lift up their heads;[250]

let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them!

Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!

¹¹ Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

¹² I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy,

and executes justice for the poor.

¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me;

give ear to my voice when I call to you.

 ² Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

 ³ Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

 ⁴ Do not turn my heart to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with those who work iniquity;

do not let me eat of their delicacies.

 ⁵ Let the righteous strike me;

let the faithful correct me.

Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,[251]

for my prayer is continually[252] against their wicked deeds.

 ⁶ When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,

then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

 ⁷ Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,

so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.[253]

 ⁸ But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;

in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

 ⁹ Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,

and from the snares of evildoers.

¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I alone escape.

Psalm 142

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.

 ¹ With my voice I cry to the LORD;

with my voice I make supplication to the LORD.

 ² I pour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

 ³ When my spirit is faint,

you know my way.

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

 ⁴ Look on my right hand and see—

there is no one who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for me.

 ⁵ I cry to you, O LORD;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

 ⁶ Give heed to my cry,

for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me.

 ⁷ Bring me out of prison,

so that I may give thanks to your name.

The righteous will surround me,

for you will deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD;

give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;

answer me in your righteousness.

 ² Do not enter into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous before you.

 ³ For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing my life to the ground,

making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

 ⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

 ⁵ I remember the days of old,

I think about all your deeds,

I meditate on the works of your hands.

 ⁶ I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Selah

 ⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD;

my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me,

or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

 ⁸ Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,

for in you I put my trust.

Teach me the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

 ⁹ Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;

I have fled to you for refuge.[254]

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,

PRACTICING PRAYER

Iv. much doubt if I’m good enough at prayer myself to advise others. First thing in the morning and last thing at night are good times but I don’t find that they are the best times for one’s main prayer. I prefer sometime in the early evening, before one has got sleepy—but of course it depends on how your day is mapped out.

“Grudging” tho’ a nuisance need not depress us too much. It is the act of will (perhaps strongest where there is some disinclination to contend against) that God values, rather than the state of our emotions—the act being what we give Him, the emotions what He gives us (usually, I think, indirectly thro’ the state of our body, health etc., tho’ there are direct kindlings from Him too. There are presents, to be given thanks for but never counted on).

Of course it is very difficult to keep God only before one for more than a few seconds. Our minds are in ruins before we bring them to Him & the rebuilding is gradual. It may help to practice concentration on other objects twice a week quite apart from ones prayer: i.e. sit down looking at some physical object (say, a flower) and try for a few minutes to attend exclusively to it, quietly (never impatiently) rejecting the train of thought & imagination wh. keep starting up.

—from a letter to Rhona Bodle, January 3, 1948

For reflection Psalm 143:1

for you are my God.

Let your good spirit lead me

on a level path.

¹¹ For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.

In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

¹² In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,

and destroy all my adversaries,

for I am your servant.

Psalm 144

Of David.

 ¹ Blessed be the LORD, my rock,

who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

 ² my rock[255] and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues the peoples[256] under me.

 ³ O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them,

or mortals that you think of them?

 ⁴ They are like a breath;

their days are like a passing shadow.

 ⁵ Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;

touch the mountains so that they smoke.

 ⁶ Make the lightning flash and scatter them;

send out your arrows and rout them.

 ⁷ Stretch out your hand from on high;

set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,

from the hand of aliens,

 ⁸ whose mouths speak lies,

and whose right hands are false.

 ⁹ I will sing a new song to you, O God;

upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

¹⁰ the one who gives victory to kings,

who rescues his servant David.

¹¹ Rescue me from the cruel sword,

and deliver me from the hand of aliens,

whose mouths speak lies,

and whose right hands are false.

¹² May our sons in their youth

be like plants full grown,

our daughters like corner pillars,

cut for the building of a palace.

¹³ May our barns be filled,

with produce of every kind;

may our sheep increase by thousands,

by tens of thousands in our fields,

¹⁴      and may our cattle be heavy with young.

May there be no breach in the walls,[257] no exile,

and no cry of distress in our streets.

¹⁵ Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;

happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 145

Praise. Of David.

 ¹ I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

 ² Every day I will bless you,

and praise your name forever and ever.

 ³ Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

his greatness is unsearchable.

 ⁴ One generation shall laud your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

 ⁵ On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

 ⁶ The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,

and I will declare your greatness.

 ⁷ They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

 ⁸ The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

 ⁹ The LORD is good to all,

and his compassion is over all that he has made.

¹⁰ All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,

and all your faithful shall bless you.

¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,

and tell of your power,

¹² to make known to all people your[258] mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your[259] kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The LORD is faithful in all his words,

and gracious in all his deeds.[260]

¹⁴ The LORD upholds all who are falling,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

¹⁶ You open your hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷ The LORD is just in all his ways,

and kind in all his doings.

¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;

he also hears their cry, and saves them.

²⁰ The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 146

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, O my soul!

 ² I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

 ³ Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortals, in whom there is no help.

 ⁴ When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

on that very day their plans perish.

 ⁵ Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD their God,

 ⁶ who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith forever;

 ⁷      who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

 ⁸      the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

 ⁹ The LORD watches over the strangers;

he upholds the orphan and the widow,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰ The LORD will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD!

GOD’S INFINITE ATTENTION

Almost certainly God is not in Time. His life does not consist of moments following one another. If a million people are praying to Him at ten-thirty tonight, He need not listen to them all in that one little snippet which we call ten-thirty. Ten-thirty—and every other moment from the beginning of the world—is always the Present for Him. If you like to put it that way, He has all eternity in which to listen to the split second of prayer put up by a pilot as his plane crashes in flames. . . .

God is not hurried along in the Time-stream of this universe any more than an author is hurried along in the imaginary time of his own novel. He has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man in the world.

—from Mere Christianity

For reflection Psalm 145:19

Psalm 147

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

How good it is to sing praises to our God;

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

 ² The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

 ³ He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

 ⁴ He determines the number of the stars;

he gives to all of them their names.

 ⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.

 ⁶ The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;

he casts the wicked to the ground.

 ⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on the lyre.

 ⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds,

prepares rain for the earth,

makes grass grow on the hills.

 ⁹ He gives to the animals their food,

and to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;[261]

¹¹ but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

¹² Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

¹⁴ He grants peace[262] within your borders;

he fills you with the finest of wheat.

¹⁵ He sends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

¹⁶ He gives snow like wool;

he scatters frost like ashes.

¹⁷ He hurls down hail like crumbs—

who can stand before his cold?

¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹ He declares his word to Jacob,

his statutes and ordinances to Israel.

²⁰ He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his ordinances.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 148

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

 ² Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his host!

 ³ Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all you shining stars!

 ⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

 ⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for he commanded and they were created.

 ⁶ He established them forever and ever;

he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.[263]

 ⁷ Praise the LORD from the earth,

you sea monsters and all deeps,

 ⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost,

stormy wind fulfilling his command!

 ⁹ Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle,

creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹² Young men and women alike,

old and young together!

PRAISE FOR GOD’S CREATION

Iwill never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love everything too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves.

—from a letter to Mary Willis Shelburne, August 18, 1956

For reflection Psalm 148:1–14

¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for his name alone is exalted;

his glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people,

praise for all his faithful,

for the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 149

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Sing to the LORD a new song,

his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

 ² Let Israel be glad in its Maker;

let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

 ³ Let them praise his name with dancing,

making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

 ⁴ For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;

he adorns the humble with victory.

 ⁵ Let the faithful exult in glory;

let them sing for joy on their couches.

 ⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats

and two-edged swords in their hands,

 ⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

 ⁸ to bind their kings with fetters

and their nobles with chains of iron,

 ⁹ to execute on them the judgment decreed.

This is glory for all his faithful ones.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150

 ¹ Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty firmament![264]

 ² Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

 ³ Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

 ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

 ⁵ Praise him with clanging cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

 ⁶ Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

For reflection: Psalm 150:1–6

Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely?” “Wasn’t it glorious?” “Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.

—from Reflections on the Psalms

[1]  Cn: Meaning of Heb of verses 11b and 12a is uncertain

[2]  Syr: Heb him

[3]  Or are angry

[4]  Or awake for me

[5]  Cn: Heb return

[6]  Heb he

[7]  Heb ben adam, lit. son of man

[8]  Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim

[9]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[10]  Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb flee to your mountain, O bird

[11]  Syr: Heb hold counsels

[12]  Jerome Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[13]  Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[14]  One Ms Compare Syr: MT Our steps

[15]  Gk See 2 Sam 22.14: Heb adds hailstones and coals of fire

[16]  Or gentleness

[17]  Gk Tg: Heb people

[18]  Or dome

[19]  Gk Jerome Compare Syr: Heb line

[20]  Heb In them

[21]  Or from proud thoughts

[22]  Gk: Heb give victory, O LORD; let the King answer us when we call

[23]  Cn: Heb strength

[24]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[25]  Heb my only one

[26]  Heb answered

[27]  Or kindred

[28]  Heb him

[29]  Heb he

[30]  Or afflicted

[31]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb you

[32]  Cn: Heb They have eaten and

[33]  Cn: Heb all the fat ones

[34]  Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb and he who cannot keep himself alive

[35]  Compare Gk: Heb it will be told about the Lord to the generation, ³¹they will come and

[36]  Heb waters of rest

[37]  Or life

[38]  Or paths of righteousness

[39]  Or the valley of the shadow of death

[40]  Or Only

[41]  Or kindness

[42]  Heb for length of days

[43]  Gk Syr: Heb your face, O Jacob

[44]  Or The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me

[45]  Or in your faithfulness

[46]  Or refuge

[47]  Heb your innermost sanctuary

[48]  Heb sons of gods

[49]  Or causes the deer to calve

[50]  Or that I should not go down to the Pit

[51]  Heb that glory

[52]  One Heb Ms Gk Syr Jerome: MT I hate

[53]  Gk Syr: Heb my iniquity

[54]  Cn: Heb exceedingly

[55]  Another reading is cut off

[56]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[57]  Cn: Heb at a time of finding only

[58]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb their

[59]  Heb a pit, their net

[60]  The word pit is transposed from the preceding line

[61]  Or My prayer turned back

[62]  Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the profanest of mockers of a cake

[63]  Heb him

[64]  Heb A man’s steps

[65]  Heb his

[66]  Heb he stumbles

[67]  Heb he

[68]  Heb him

[69]  Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[70]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb he

[71]  Q Ms: MT my living foes

[72]  Heb hostility

[73]  Cn: Heb pit of tumult

[74]  Heb ears you have dug for me

[75]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[76]  Or weak

[77]  Heb you change all his bed

[78]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[79]  Gk Syr: Heb You are my King, O God; command

[80]  Heb a shaking of the head

[81]  Cn: Heb and the meekness of

[82]  Or Your throne is a throne of God, it

[83]  Heb daughter

[84]  Or people. ¹³All glorious is the princess within, gold embroidery is her clothing

[85]  Heb lacks O king

[86]  Or well proved

[87]  Heb of it

[88]  Or fortress

[89]  Heb Maskil

[90]  Heb daughters

[91]  Another reading is no one can ransom a brother

[92]  Heb the pit

[93]  Gk Syr Compare Tg: Heb their inward (thought)

[94]  Tg: Heb after them

[95]  Cn: Heb the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning

[96]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[97]  Cn: Heb you

[98]  Gk Syr Tg: Heb mountains

[99]  Or make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God

[100]  Heb who set a way

[101]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[102]  Or steadfast

[103]  Or generous

[104]  Or My sacrifice, O God,

[105]  Cn Compare Syr: Heb the kindness of God

[106]  Heb him

[107]  Syr Tg: Heb in his destruction

[108]  Cn: Heb wait for

[109]  Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb him who encamps against you

[110]  Gk: Heb you have put (them) to shame

[111]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is of those who uphold or is with those who uphold

[112]  Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter

[113]  Heb lacks with me

[114]  Or Cast what he has given you

[115]  Cn: Heb rescue

[116]  Or because

[117]  Cn: Heb are aflame for

[118]  Or mighty lords

[119]  Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[120]  Heb with swords

[121]  Heb lacks they think

[122]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb because of the truth

[123]  Another reading is me

[124]  Or by his holiness

[125]  Heb with fat and fatness

[126]  Syr: Heb them

[127]  Cn: Heb They search out crimes

[128]  Cn: Heb They will bring him to ruin, their tongue being against them

[129]  Gk Jerome: Heb his

[130]  Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb to a saturation

[131]  Or cast up a highway for him who rides through the deserts

[132]  Or company of the women

[133]  Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

[134]  Cn: Heb The Lord among them Sinai in the holy (place)

[135]  Gk Syr Tg: Heb shatter

[136]  Or have been seen

[137]  Cn: Heb Trampling

[138]  Meaning of Heb of verse 30 is uncertain

[139]  Or Nubia; Heb Cush

[140]  Gk: Heb from your

[141]  Gk Syr: Heb I wept, with fasting my soul, or I made my soul mourn with fasting

[142]  Gk Syr: Heb recount the pain of

[143]  Syr: Heb and they shall live

[144]  Gk Compare 31.3: Heb to come continually you have commanded

[145]  Gk Compare Syr: Heb to a generation, to all that come

[146]  Gk: Heb may they fear you

[147]  Cn: Heb those who live in the wilderness

[148]  Or bless themselves by him

[149]  Or good to Israel

[150]  Cn: Heb his people return here

[151]  Cn: Heb abundant waters are drained by them

[152]  Cn: Heb Lord

[153]  Or to glory

[154]  Heb rock

[155]  Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[156]  Cn: Heb do you consume your right hand from

[157]  Heb food for the people

[158]  Or moon; Heb light

[159]  Gk Syr: Heb the

[160]  Gk: Heb declare

[161]  Gk: Heb the mountains of prey

[162]  Heb lacks your

[163]  Gk Syr: Heb My music

[164]  Syr Jerome: Heb my spirit searches

[165]  Heb armed with shooting

[166]  Syr: Heb strife

[167]  Heb adds from verse 17 and upon the one whom you made strong for yourself

[168]  Cn: Heb it is cut down

[169]  Or against

[170]  Heb his

[171]  Cn Compare verse 16b: Heb he would feed him

[172]  Or fall as one man, O princes

[173]  Or a tumbleweed

[174]  Heb lacks to Zion

[175]  Gk: Heb but let them not turn back to folly

[176]  Or Nubia ; Heb Cush

[177]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[178]  Gk: Heb the steadfast love of the LORD

[179]  Gk Syr: Heb greatly awesome

[180]  Or Zaphon and Yamin

[181]  Cn: Heb are exalted in

[182]  Cn: Heb help

[183]  Cn: Heb removed his cleanness

[184]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[185]  Cn: Heb bosom all of many peoples

[186]  Another reading is our refuge

[187]  Heb humankind

[188]  Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end

[189]  Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride

[190]  Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

[191]  Cn: Heb Because you, LORD, are my refuge; you have made

[192]  Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[193]  Cn: Heb majestic are the waves

[194]  Heb the thoughts of humankind

[195]  Heb daughters

[196]  Cn: Heb You who love the LORD hate

[197]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is sown

[198]  Cn: Heb And a king’s strength

[199]  Another reading is and not we ourselves

[200]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[201]  Heb his

[202]  Heb By them

[203]  Or to cultivate

[204]  Or your breath

[205]  Another reading is Israel (compare 1 Chr 16.13)

[206]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb to bind

[207]  Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb they did not rebel

[208]  Heb them

[209]  Cn Compare 78.17, 56: Heb rebelled at the sea

[210]  Or Sea of Reeds

[211]  Compare Gk Mss: Heb exchanged their glory

[212]  Syr Compare Ezek 20.23: Heb cause to fall

[213]  Heb him

[214]  Cn: Heb sea

[215]  Cn: Heb fools

[216]  Heb Mss Gk Syr: MT lacks my heart is steadfast

[217]  Compare 57.8: Heb also my soul

[218]  Or by his holiness

[219]  Syr: Heb I prayer

[220]  Heb lacks They say

[221]  Gk: Heb and seek

[222]  Cn: Heb fathers

[223]  Gk: Heb their

[224]  Gk: Heb They have risen up and have been put to shame

[225]  Another reading is in holy splendor

[226]  Cn: Heb the dew of your youth

[227]  Or forever, a rightful king by my edict

[228]  Gk Syr: Heb them

[229]  Heb his

[230]  Gk: Heb were extinguished

[231]  Gk Syr Jerome: Heb You pushed me hard

[232]  Or in him

[233]  Or Blessed in the name of the LORD is the one who comes

[234]  Meaning of Heb uncertain

[235]  Gk Jerome: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[236]  Or brought back those who returned to Zion

[237]  Or for he provides for his beloved during sleep

[238]  Or my soul within me is like a weaned child

[239]  Or Sea of Reeds

[240]  Or poplars

[241]  Or you who are devastated

[242]  Cn: Heb you have exalted your word above all your name

[243]  Syr Compare Gk Tg: Heb you made me arrogant in my soul with strength

[244]  Or I awake

[245]  Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[246]  Heb hurtful

[247]  Or the ancient way. Compare Jer 6.16

[248]  Or they have spread cords as a net

[249]  Heb adds they are exalted

[250]  Cn Compare Gk: Heb those who surround me are uplifted in head; Heb divides verses 8 and 9 differently

[251]  Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

[252]  Cn: Heb for continually and my prayer

[253]  Meaning of Heb of verses 5–7 is uncertain

[254]  One Heb Ms Gk: MT to you I have hidden

[255]  With 18.2 and 2 Sam 22.2: Heb my steadfast love

[256]  Heb Mss Syr Aquila Jerome: MT my people

[257]  Heb lacks in the walls

[258]  Gk Jerome Syr: Heb his

[259]  Heb his

[260]  These two lines supplied by Q Ms Gk Syr

[261]  Heb legs of a person

[262]  Or prosperity

[263]  Or he set a law that cannot pass away

[264]  Or dome