A Song of Praise

1All you that are righteous,

shout for joy for what the Lord has done;

praise him, all you that obey him.

2Give thanks to the Lord with harps,

sing to him with stringed instruments.

3Sing a new song to him,

play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!

4The words of the Lord are true,

and all his works are dependable.

5The Lord loves what is righteous and just;

his constant love fills the earth.

6The Lord created the heavens by his command,

the sun, moon, and stars by his spoken word.

7He gathered all the seas into one place;

he shut up the ocean depths in storerooms.

8Worship the Lord, all the earth!

Honor him, all peoples of the world!

9When he spoke, the world was created;

at his command everything appeared.

10The Lord frustrates the purposes of the nations;

he keeps them from carrying out their plans.

11But his plans endure forever;

his purposes last eternally.

12Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord;

happy are the people he has chosen for his own!

13The Lord looks down from heaven

and sees all of us humans.

14From where he rules, he looks down

on all who live on earth.

15He forms all their thoughts

and knows everything they do.

16 A king does not win because of his powerful army;

a soldier does not triumph because of his strength.

17War horses are useless for victory;

their great strength cannot save.

18The Lord watches over those who obey him,

those who trust in his constant love.

19He saves them from death;

he keeps them alive in times of famine.

20We put our hope in the Lord;

he is our protector and our help.

21We are glad because of him;

we trust in his holy name.

22May your constant love be with us, Lord,

as we put our hope in you.