You give food to the poor!
You are happiness for everyone!
We give you thanks, O Lord!
You give food to the birds!
You send the rain and make the grass grow!
We give you thanks, O Lord!

Why do the nations conspire,
why do the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise in revolt,
and princes plot together
against the Lord and against his Messiah:
"Let us break their fetters of iron,
let us throw off the ropes that bind us,"
but the One who’s in heaven is laughing,
from on high the Lord derides them.
He speaks to them in his anger,
he frightens them with his fury:
"I have anointed him my sovereign
on Zion my holy mountain,
on Zion my holy mountain,
I have anointed him my sovereign
on Zion my holy mountain,
on Zion my holy mountain."
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord,
he has told me: "You are my son,
today I have begotten you.
Ask me, and to you I will give all the nations,
and the ends of the earth for your heritage.
You will break them with a sceptre of iron,
like vessels of clay you will shatter them."
"I have anointed him my sovereign…
And now, you kings, be wise,
learn wisdom, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord, our God, with fear,
and rejoice with trembling;
lest he grow angry
and you lose your way,
for his anger is quick to blaze.
Happy the man who takes refuge in him.
"I have anointed him my sovereign…

How lovely are your dwelling places, O Lord,
Lord of Hosts!
My soul longs and yearns
for the courts of the Lord.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
the swallow its nest
near your altars, O Lord,
my King and my God,
my King and my God.
Happy is he who lives in your house,
ever singing your praise,
ever singing your praise.
Happy is he who finds in you the strength
and decides in his heart
to make the holy journey.
Passing through the valley of weeping,
he changes it into a spring;
his strength grows along the way,
till he arrives in Zion, till he arrives in Zion.
For me a day in your courts
is worth more
than a thousand elsewhere.
To dwell at the gate of your house
is better than to live in the palaces of the mighty.
Passing through the valley of weeping…
For me a day in your courts …

Lord, do not punish me in your anger,
do not chastise me in your rage.
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O Lord,
I am fainting;
heal me O Lord,
all my bones are shaking.
My soul is very distressed.
But you, O Lord, how much longer?
But you, O Lord, how much longer?
Lord, do not punish me…
Turn to me, O Lord, rescue my soul,
save me, O Lord,
in your mercy.
For no one among the dead remembers you.
For no one among the dead remembers you.
Nor in Sheol do they sing your praise,
Nor in Sheol do they sing your praise,
Lord, do not punish me…
I am exhausted with my laments,
every night I drench my bed with tears
My eyes waste away with grief.
I grow old surrounded by my enemies.
Away from me, evildoers! –
for the Lord hears my lament,
for the Lord welcomes my prayer.
Lord, do not punish me…

A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the road.
The birds came down, they ate it up,
they devoured it,
they devoured it.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the rock.
A sower went out to sow,
and some of the seed fell on the rock.
The sun came out and dried it up:
it had no soil,
it had no soil.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell among thorns.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell among thorns.
The seeds grew, the thorns grew,
they stifled it,
they stifled it.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the soil.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the soil.
It bore fruit, some thirtyfold,
some sixtyfold,
and some a hundred.
He who has ears
and wants to hear,
listen,
listen:
Don’t be the road,
don’t be the road,
don’t be the rock,
don’t be the rock,
don’t be the thorns,
don’t be the thorns,
but be the soil,
the good soil,
where Jesus
may grow,
where Jesus
may grow.

The glorious cross of the risen Lord
is the tree of my salvation;
on it I feed, in it I delight,
in its roots I grow,
in its branches I lie down.
Its dew makes me glad,
its breeze gives me life,
in its shadow I have put my tent.
In hunger, my nourishment, in thirst, the fountain,
in nakedness, my clothing.
Hard path, narrow road,
Jacob's ladder, bed of love
where the Lord married us.
The glorious cross…
In fear, defence,
in stumbling, support,
in victory, crown,
in struggle, you are reward.
Tree of eternal life,
pillar of the universe,
skeleton of the earth,
your peak reaches heaven,
and in your open arms
shines the love of God.
The glorious cross…

The voice of my beloved: Behold! Here he comes,
leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young deer,
my beloved is like a gazelle.
Behold! He stands behind our wall
and looks in at the window, he peers through the lattice.
Now my beloved speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my beloved!
Arise my love, arise and come!"
"Arise, my beloved,
Arise my love, arise and come!"
Look, winter has already passed,
the rains are over, they have gone away,
the flowers have appeared on the earth,
the time for singing has come again
and the voice of the turtle dove has returned,
the fig-tree has blossomed with first fruits
and the grape vine gives off its scent.
"Arise, my beloved…
O my dove in the cleft of the rock,
in the hiding places of the cliffs,
let me hear your voice,
let me hear your voice.
Chase away the foxes, the little foxes
who spoil the vineyard.
For our vineyard is in blossom!
For our vineyard is in blossom!
My beloved is for me,
and I am for him.
Before the breeze blows
and the shadows of death grow longer,
return, return, return!
Return, return, return!