A prayer for God to forgive his people
1 I look up to you, God,
as you rule from your throne in heaven.
2 Yes, our eyes look up to the Lord our God.
We want him to be kind to us,
so we wait for his help.
We wait like servants who want help from their master.
3 Please be kind to us, Lord.
Please forgive us.
People have insulted us more and more!
4 We have had too much!
Proud people laugh at us,
and they do not respect us.
Please stop them!
Psalm 124
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
124:0David may have written this psalm when he was fighting against the Philistines. The psalm says that if God had not helped his people, the enemy would have destroyed them.
God helps his people to win against enemies
1 If the Lord was not fighting for us,
what would have happened?
Israel's people, now answer:
2 ‘If the Lord was not fighting for us
when men attacked us,
3 our enemies would have eaten us alive!
124:3‘Eaten us alive’ is a word picture that means ‘destroyed us’.
They would have destroyed us,
because they were so angry with us.
4 They would have been too strong for us,
like rivers of waters that covered us.
5 They would have been like deep water over our heads
that drowned us.
124:5The rivers and deep water are pictures of the power of the enemy.
6 We should praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies destroy us,
like wild animals that kill their food and eat it.
7 Now we have become free,
like a bird that escaped from a trap.
Our enemies lost their power, and we are free!
124:7A trap is something to catch an animal or bird in. David felt that Israel was in a trap, but God made them free.
8 The one who helped us is the Lord.
He is the one who made the whole universe.’
Psalm 125
A song to sing as we climb.
God takes care of his people
1 People who trust in the Lord are strong,
like Mount Zion.
125:1 Mount Zion was a strong place in the middle of the city of Jerusalem.
Nothing can shake it.
It will always be there.
2 The Lord is always near to his people,
like the mountains around Jerusalem.
He keeps his people safe, now and for ever.
3 Wicked people will not rule over God's own people.
They will not rule the land where righteous people live.
If they did, the righteous people might also do bad things.
4 Lord, please do good things to good, honest people.
Be kind to those who follow your good ways.
5 But as for people who follow their own bad ways,
Lord, remove them!
Take them away, together with people who do evil things.
May Israel have peace!
