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Psalm 123

Supplication for Mercy

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

Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance

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

The Security of God’s People

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
   which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
   so the Lord surrounds his people,
   from this time on and for evermore.
³ For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest
   on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous may 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 Harvest of Joy

A Song of Ascents.
¹ When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,^*
   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

God’s Blessings in the Home

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
¹ Unless the Lord builds the house,
   those who build it labour 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.^*

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.

Psalm 128

The Happy Home of the Faithful

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 labour 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!