oremus Bible Browser

Psalm 127

1  Unless the Lord builds the house, •
   those who build it labour in vain.
2  Unless the Lord keeps the city, •
   the guard keeps watch in vain.
3  It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early
      and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil, •
   for he gives his beloved sleep.
4  Children are a heritage from the Lord •
   and the fruit of the womb is his gift.
5  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, •
   so are the children of one’s youth.
6  Happy are those who have their quiver full of them: •
   they shall not be put to shame
      when they dispute with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 146

Praise for God’s Help

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 for ever;
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 for ever,
   your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!