1 Praise the Lord! My soul, praise the Lord!
2 I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praises to him as long as I live.
3 Don’t depend on your leaders for help. Don’t depend on people, because they cannot save you.
4 People die and are buried. Then all their plans to help are gone.
5 It is a great blessing for people to have the God of Jacob to help them. They depend on the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth. He made the sea and everything in it. He can be trusted to do what he says.
7 He does what is right for those who have been hurt. He gives food to the hungry. The Lord frees people locked up in prison.
8 The Lord makes the blind see again. The Lord helps those who are in trouble. The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects strangers in our country. He cares for widows and orphans, but he destroys the wicked.