What the Bible Says About the Meaning of Song

Scripture

¹ Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
² The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³ “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.”
⁴ “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.”
⁵ The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
⁶ “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.”
⁷ In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
⁸ At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
¹⁰ You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
¹¹ “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”
¹² You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.
¹³ “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”
¹⁴ The peoples have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
¹⁶ Terror and dread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
¹⁸ The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
¹⁹ For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.
²¹ And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Exodus 15:1-21

Deuteronomy 32:1-43: ³² “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.”
² May my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and like showers upon the herb.
³ For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God!
⁴ “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
⁵ “They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.”
³²:6 Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?
⁷ Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
⁸ When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
⁹ But the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
¹⁰ “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”
¹¹ Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,
¹² The Lord alone guided him,
no foreign god was with him.
¹³ He made him ride on the high places of the land,
and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
and oil out of the flinty rock.
¹⁴ Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat— and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.
¹⁵ “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.”
¹⁶ They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger.
¹⁷ They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
whom your fathers had never dreaded.
¹⁸ You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
¹⁹ “The Lord saw it and spurned them,
because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.”
²⁰ And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
²¹ They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
²² For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devouring the earth and its increase,
and setting on fire the foundations of the mountains.
²³ “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
I will spend my arrows on them;
²⁴ they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague
and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
²⁵ The sword shall destroy outside; there shall be terror within for the young man and the young woman, the nursing infant with the man of gray hairs.
²⁶ I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces; I will wipe them from human memory,”
²⁷ Were it not that I feared provocation by the enemy,
lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,
it was not the Lord who did all this.”
²⁸ “For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them.”
²⁹ If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern their latter end!
³⁰ How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the Lord had given them up?
³¹ For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves.
³² For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter;
³³ their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.
³⁴ “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries?
³⁵ Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.
³⁶ For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.
³⁷ Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
³⁸ who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection!
³⁹ “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
⁴⁰ For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever,
⁴¹ if I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.
⁴² I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh— with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
⁴³ “Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods,
for he avenges the blood of his children
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
and cleanses his people’s land.”

Judges 5:1-31: ¹ Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
² “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!”
³ “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
⁴ “Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water.”
⁵ The mountains quaked before the Lord,
even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.
⁶ “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,
and travelers kept to the byways.
⁷ The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
⁸ When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
⁹ My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord.
¹⁰ “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.”
¹¹ To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.
¹² “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam.”
¹³ “Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty.
¹⁴ From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff;
¹⁵ the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels.
¹⁶ “Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.”
¹⁷ Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings.
¹⁸ Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.
¹⁹ “The kings came, they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
they got no spoils of silver.
²⁰ From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
²¹ The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!
²² “Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.”
²³ ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord, ‘curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.’
²⁴ “Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
²⁵ He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.
²⁶ “She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet;
she struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.”
²⁷ “Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.”
²⁸ “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’”
²⁹ “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be,
blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
³⁰ ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?—
A womb or two for every man;
spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’
³¹ “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10: ² And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
² “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
³ Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
⁴ The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.
⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶ The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
⁸ He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.
¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.”

2 Samuel 22:1-51: ¹ And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
² He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
³ my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
⁴ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
⁵ “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;”
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.
⁷ “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.”
⁸ “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.”
⁹ Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
¹⁰ He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
¹¹ He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
¹² He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
¹³ “Out of the brightness before him
coals of fire flamed forth.”
¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
¹⁵ And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.
¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
¹⁷ “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.”
¹⁸ He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
²⁰ He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
²¹ “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.”
²² For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²³ For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²⁴ I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.
²⁵ And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
²⁶ “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;”
²⁷ With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁸ You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
²⁹ For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness.
³⁰ For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³¹ “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
³² “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?”
³³ This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.
³⁴ He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
³⁵ He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your gentleness made me great.
³⁷ You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip;
³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁹ I consumed them; I struck them down, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.
⁴⁰ For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴¹ You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
⁴² They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
⁴³ I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
⁴⁴ “You delivered me from strife with my people;
you kept me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
⁴⁶ The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—
⁴⁷ “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,”
⁴⁸ It is God who avenges me and subdues the peoples under me;
⁴⁹ who delivered me from my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you rescued me from the man of violence.
⁵⁰ “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
⁵¹ Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.”

1 Chronicles 16:7-36: ⁷ Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
⁸ Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
⁹ Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
¹¹ Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
¹² Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
¹⁴ He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
¹⁵ Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶ the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
¹⁷ Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
¹⁸ saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
¹⁹ When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it,
²⁰ they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
²¹ He allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
²² “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
²⁵ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.
²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
³⁰ Tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
³² Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!
³³ then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
³⁴ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
³⁵ Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.”
³⁶ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Psalm 18:1-50: ¹ I love you, O Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
³ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
⁴ The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
⁵ The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
⁷ Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
⁸ Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
⁹ He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰ The Lord rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
¹² Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
¹³ The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
¹⁶ He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
²⁰ The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²³ I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.
²⁴ So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
²⁵ With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁶ With the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁷ For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
²⁸ For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
²⁹ For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³⁰ This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
³² the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
³³ He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
³⁶ You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
³⁷ I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
³⁸ I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
³⁹ For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer.
⁴² I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
⁴³ You made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
⁴⁶ The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation.
⁴⁷ The God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me.
⁴⁸ who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence.
⁴⁹ For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.
⁵⁰ Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

Psalm 33:1-22: ¹ Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
² Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
³ Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴ From the place of his dwelling he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.
¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
²¹ For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Psalm 40:1-17: ¹ I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
⁴ Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
⁵ You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
⁶ In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
⁸ I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.
⁹ I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
¹⁰ I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
¹¹ As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
¹² For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.
¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!
¹⁴ Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.
¹⁵ Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
¹⁶ But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
¹⁷ As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Psalm 96:1-13: ¹ Oh 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 feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor 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 the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is 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 For he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 98:1-9: ¹ Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
² The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness 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 salvation 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 dwell in it.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
⁹ for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 100:1-5: ¹ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
² Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
³ Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; 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 103:1-22: 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 forget not 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
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
⁶ The Lord works righteousness 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 chide, 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 high as the heavens are 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 does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes 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 word, obeying the voice of his word!
²¹ Bless the Lord, all his hosts, you ministers of his, who do his will.
²² Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Psalm 105:1-45: ¹ Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
² Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous 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 wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.
⁶ O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
⁷ He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
⁸ He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.
⁹ the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac.
¹⁰ And he confirmed it 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 sojourners in it,
¹³ When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ He allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
¹⁵ “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
¹⁶ When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread,
¹⁷ He 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 said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested 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 bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.
²³ Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
²⁴ And the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes.
²⁵ He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
²⁶ He sent Moses, his servant, 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 did not rebel 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 sent his word, and it healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
³² He gave them hail for rain, and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
³³ He struck down their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came, young locusts without number.
³⁵ And ate up all the plants in their land and ate up the fruit of their ground.
³⁶ He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.
³⁷ Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his 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 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
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 And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 106:1-48: ¹ Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?
³ Blessed are they 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 save them.
⁵ That I may look upon the goodness of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your inheritance.
⁶ Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
⁷ Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
⁸ Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.
⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
¹⁰ And he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
¹¹ And 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 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
¹⁸ A fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
¹⁹ They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.
²⁰ They exchanged the glory of God 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.
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 But grumbled in their tents; they 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 that he would make their offspring fall among the nations, and scatter them among the lands.
²⁸ Then they yoked 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 intervened, and the plague was stayed.
³¹ It was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
³² They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account;
³³ For they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord commanded them,
³⁵ But they mixed 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 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
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 looked upon their distress when he heard their cry.
⁴⁵ For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁴⁶ He caused them to be pitied by all those 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!

Psalm 107:1-43: ¹ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.
³ and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
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 till they reached a city to dwell in.
⁸ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
¹¹ For they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
¹² He brought down their hearts with hard labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
¹⁵ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
¹⁶ For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
¹⁷ Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered 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 delivered them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
²² And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
²³ Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great 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 evil plight.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁹ He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
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 evil of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
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 livestock diminish.
³⁹ As their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, evil, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ He pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ But he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
⁴³ Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 136:1-26: ¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.
⁴ To him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁵ To him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁶ to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁷ To him 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 To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, 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 to him who divided the Red Sea 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 host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever.
¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁰ And gave their land as a heritage, 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 He gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.
²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Isaiah 12:1-6: ¹ You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
² “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
⁴ And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵ “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.”
⁶ “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 26:1-21: ¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.
² Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
³ You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
⁵ For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.
⁶ The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”
⁷ The way of the righteous is level;
you make smooth the path of the righteous.
⁸ In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
¹⁰ If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
¹² O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,
for you have indeed done for us all our works.
¹³ O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
¹⁴ They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.
¹⁵ But you have increased the nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land.
¹⁶ O Lord, in distress they sought you;
they poured out a whispered prayer
when your discipline was upon them.
¹⁷ Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord;
¹⁸ We were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
¹⁹ Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
²⁰ Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the fury has passed by.
²¹ For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.

Isaiah 42:10-17: ¹⁰ Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
¹¹ Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
¹² Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.
¹³ The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
¹⁴ I have held my peace for a long time;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
¹⁵ I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.
¹⁷ They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
“You are our gods.”

Isaiah 49:13-23: ¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
¹⁷ Your builders make haste;
your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, declares the Lord,
you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
¹⁹ “Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land— surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.”
²⁰ The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
²¹ Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’”
²² Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.”
²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

Isaiah 54:1-17: ¹ “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
² “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
³ For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.
⁴ “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.”
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶ For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
⁷ For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸ In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
⁹ “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.”
¹⁰ For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
¹¹ “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.”
¹² I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones.
¹³ All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
¹⁵ If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose.
¹⁷ no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Isaiah 55:1-13: ¹ “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord,
that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
¹² “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Isaiah 61:1-11: ¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers.
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

Isaiah 65:17-25: ¹⁷ “For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:1-14: ¹ “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
² Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,
³ the Lord appeared to him from far away. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
⁴ Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!
⁵ Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit.
⁶ For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”
⁷ For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’
⁸ Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.
⁹ With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
¹⁰ “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’”
¹¹ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
¹² They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall be like a watered garden,
and they shall languish no more.
¹³ Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴ I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.

Lamentations 3:19-33: ¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
³⁰ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever,
³² Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
³³ for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.

Habakkuk 3:1-19: ¹ A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:
² O Lord, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.
³ God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran.
⁴ His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
⁵ Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.
⁶ He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.
⁷ I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
⁸ Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea
when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
⁹ You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah.
¹⁰ The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its voice;
it lifted its hands on high.
¹¹ The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.
¹² You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.
¹³ You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
¹⁴ You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.
¹⁶ I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.
¹⁷ Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Luke 1:46-55: ⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Luke 1:67-79: ⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people.
⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹ that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,
⁷⁴ that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.
⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Revelation 5:9-14: ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
¹² saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 15:3-4: ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.