I look to the mountains; where will my help come from?

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the LORD's house."

LORD, I look up to you, up to heaven, where you rule.

What if the LORD had not been on our side? Answer, O Israel!

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken, never be moved.

When the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!

If the LORD does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless; if the LORD does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.

Happy are those who obey the LORD, who live by his commands.

Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you ever since you were young.

From the depths of my despair I call to you, LORD.

LORD, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me.

LORD, do not forget David and all the hardships he endured.

How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony!

Come, praise the LORD, all his servants, all who serve in his Temple at night.

In my trouble I called to the LORD; I called to my God for help. In his temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.

You were good to me, LORD; you protected me like a mountain fortress. But then you hid yourself from me, and I was afraid.

I called to you, LORD; I begged for your help:

Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me."

Then in their trouble they called to the LORD, and he saved them from their distress.

The danger of death was all around me; the horrors of the grave closed in on me; I was filled with fear and anxiety.

Then I called to the LORD, "I beg you, LORD, save me!"

In my distress I called to the LORD; he answered me and set me free.

This is the message which he told them to give to Isaiah: "Today is a day of suffering; we are being punished and are in disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is too weak to do it.

The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the LORD your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive."

King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the LORD,

"Almighty LORD, God of Israel, seated above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

We all know, LORD, that the emperors of Assyria have destroyed many nations, made their lands desolate,

Now, LORD our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that you alone are God."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed:

Then the LORD commanded Isaiah

"In my distress, O LORD, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead I cried for help, and you heard me.

In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.