Meet Caleb Brown

Your Name, O LORD, Endures Forever

1  Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD,
    give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2  who stand in the house of the LORD,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
3  Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant! ^{1 135:3 Or for he is beautiful}
4  For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

5  For I know that the LORD is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
6  Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
7  He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

8  He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
9  who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10  who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
11  Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12  and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

13  Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, ^{2 135:13 Or remembrance} O LORD, throughout all ages.
14  For the LORD will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

15  The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
16  They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
17  they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18  Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

19  O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
    O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20  O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
    You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21  Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
    he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

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 ^{3 136:15 Hebrew shook off} 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 Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
21  and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
22  a heritage to Israel his servant,
    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 who 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.

How Shall We Sing the LORD's Song?

1  By the waters of Babylon,
    there we sat down and wept,
    when we remembered Zion.
2  On the willows ^{4 137:2 Or poplars} there
    we hung up our lyres.
3  For there our captors
    required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4  How shall we sing the LORD's song
    in a foreign land?
5  If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
6  Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

7  Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
    the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
    down to its foundations!”
8  O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
    blessed shall he be who repays you
    with what you have done to us!
9  Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
    and dashes them against the rock!

Give Thanks to the LORD

Of David.

1  I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
2  I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word. ^{5 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name}
3  On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased. ^{6 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength}

4  All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5  and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
    for great is the glory of the LORD.
6  For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
8  The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3  You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4  Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5  You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

7  Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8  If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9  If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10  even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12  even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. ^{7 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart}
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15  My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
    O men of blood, depart from me!
20  They speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies take your name in vain. ^{8 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name}
21  Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22  I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts! ^{9 139:23 Or cares}
24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting! ^{10 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)}

Deliver Me, O LORD, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
2  who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
3  They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4  Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
5  The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net; ^{11 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net}
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6  I say to the LORD, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7  O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8  Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their ^{12 140:8 Hebrew his} evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9  As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10  Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
11  Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12  I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
13  Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

1  O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2  Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3  Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
    keep watch over the door of my lips!
4  Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
    and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5  Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6  When their judges are thrown over the cliff, ^{13 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock}
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7  As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol. ^{14 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain}

8  But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! ^{15 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life!}
9  Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
10  Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

You Are My Refuge

A Maskil ^{16 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term} of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

1  With my voice I cry out to the LORD;
    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
2  I pour out my complaint before him;
    I tell my trouble before him.

3  When my spirit faints within me,
    you know my way!
In the path where I walk
    they have hidden a trap for me.
4  Look to the right and see:
    there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.

5  I cry to you, O LORD;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”
6  Attend to my cry,
    for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me!
7  Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will deal bountifully with me.