The Banners

¹ By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

² There on the poplars we hung our harps,

    ³ for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

    ⁴ How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

    ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill .

    ⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.

    ⁷ Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!"

    ⁸ O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us-

⁹ he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

---

Psalm 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

    ² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

    ³ There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

    ⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

    ⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

    ⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

    ⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

    ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

    ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

    ¹¹ By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

    ¹² Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

    ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

---

¹ Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

    ² Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

    ³ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

    ⁴ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

    ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

    ⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

    ⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, 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 his  holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

    ¹⁰ Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

    ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

    ¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

    ¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

---

Psalm 23

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

    ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

    ³ he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

    ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

    ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

---

Psalm 84

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

² My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

³ Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

    ⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah

    ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

    ⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 

    ⁷ They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah

    ⁹ Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

    ¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;  no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

    ¹² O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.