Psalm 121
THE LORD OUR PROTECTOR
A song of ascents.
I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.
Psalm 123
LOOKING FOR GOD’S FAVOR
A song of ascents.
Ilift my eyes to you,
the one enthroned in heaven.
2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.
4 We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.
Psalm 124
THE LORD IS ON OUR SIDE
A song of ascents. Of David.
If the Lord had not been on our side —
let Israel say —
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.
4 Then the water would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging water would have swept over us.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;
the net is torn, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
ISRAEL’S STABILITY
A song of ascents.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem
and the Lord surrounds his people,
both now and forever.
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.
Peace be with Israel.
Psalm 128
BLESSINGS FOR THOSE WHO FEAR GOD
A song of ascents.
How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
2 You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children, like young olive trees
around your table.
4 In this very way
the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life
6 and will see your children’s children!
Peace be with Israel.
Psalm 129
PROTECTION OF THE OPPRESSED
A song of ascents.
Since my youth they have often attacked me —
let Israel say —
2 since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the ropes of the wicked.
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 130
AWAITING REDEMPTION
A song of ascents.
Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning —
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with him is redemption in abundance.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
–Psalms 121; 123-125; 128-130 (CSB)