Bible Reading Plan – Day 101

₁Happy are those

who reject the advice of evil people,

who do not follow the example of sinners

or join those who have no use for God.

₂Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the LORD,

and they study it day and night.

₃They are like trees that grow beside a stream,

that bear fruit at the right time,

and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

₄But evil people are not like this at all;

they are like straw that the wind blows away.

₅Sinners will be condemned by God

and kept apart from God's own people.

₆The righteous are guided and protected by the LORD,

but the evil are on the way to their doom.

₁Why do the nations plan rebellion?

Why do people make their useless plots?

₂Their kings revolt,

their rulers plot together against the LORD

and against the king he chose.

₃“Let us free ourselves from their rule,” they say;

“let us throw off their control.”

₄From his throne in heaven the Lord laughs

and mocks their feeble plans.

₅Then he warns them in anger

and terrifies them with his fury.

₆“On Zion, my sacred hill,” he says,

“I have installed my king.”

₇“I will announce,” says the king, “what the LORD has declared.

He said to me: ‘You are my son;

today I have become your father.

₈Ask, and I will give you all the nations;

the whole earth will be yours.

₉You will break them with an iron rod;

you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.’ ”

₁₀Now listen to this warning, you kings;

learn this lesson, you rulers of the world:

₁₁Serve the LORD with fear;

₁₂tremble and bow down to him;

or else his anger will be quickly aroused,

and you will suddenly die.

Happy are all who go to him for protection.

₁I have so many enemies, LORD,

so many who turn against me!

₂They talk about me and say,

“God will not help him.”

₃But you, O LORD, are always my shield from danger;

you give me victory

and restore my courage.

₄I call to the LORD for help,

and from his sacred hill he answers me.

₅I lie down and sleep,

and all night long the LORD protects me.

₆I am not afraid of the thousands of enemies

who surround me on every side.

₇Come, LORD! Save me, my God!

You punish all my enemies

and leave them powerless to harm me.

₈Victory comes from the LORD —

may he bless his people.

₁Answer me when I pray,

O God, my defender!

When I was in trouble, you helped me.

Be kind to me now and hear my prayer.

₂How long will you people insult me?

How long will you love what is worthless

and go after what is false?

₃Remember that the LORD has chosen the righteous for his own,

and he hears me when I call to him.

₄Tremble with fear and stop sinning;

think deeply about this,

when you lie in silence on your beds.

₅Offer the right sacrifices to the LORD,

and put your trust in him.

₆There are many who pray:

“Give us more blessings, O LORD.

Look on us with kindness!”

₇But the joy that you have given me

is more than they will ever have

with all their corn and wine.

₈When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;

you alone, O LORD, keep me perfectly safe.

₁Listen to my words, O LORD,

and hear my sighs.

₂Listen to my cry for help,

my God and king!

I pray to you, O LORD;

₃you hear my voice in the morning;

at sunrise I offer my prayer

and wait for your answer.

₄You are not a God who is pleased with wrongdoing;

you allow no evil in your presence.

₅You cannot stand the sight of the proud;

you hate all wicked people.

₆You destroy all liars

and despise violent, deceitful people.

₇But because of your great love

I can come into your house;

I can worship in your holy Temple

and bow down to you in reverence.

₈LORD, I have so many enemies!

Lead me to do your will;

make your way plain for me to follow.

₉What my enemies say can never be trusted;

they only want to destroy.

Their words are flattering and smooth,

but full of deadly deceit.

₁₀Condemn and punish them, O God;

may their own plots cause their ruin.

Drive them out of your presence

because of their many sins

and their rebellion against you.

₁₁But all who find safety in you will rejoice;

they can always sing for joy.

Protect those who love you;

because of you they are truly happy.

₁₂You bless those who obey you, LORD;

your love protects them like a shield.

₁LORD, don't be angry and rebuke me!

Don't punish me in your anger!

₂I am worn out, O LORD; have pity on me!

Give me strength; I am completely exhausted

₃and my whole being is deeply troubled.

How long, O LORD, will you wait to help me?

₄Come and save me, LORD;

in your mercy rescue me from death.

₅In the world of the dead you are not remembered;

no one can praise you there.

₆I am worn out with grief;

every night my bed is damp from my weeping;

my pillow is soaked with tears.

₇I can hardly see;

my eyes are so swollen

from the weeping caused by my enemies.

₈Keep away from me, you evil people!

The LORD hears my weeping;

₉he listens to my cry for help

and will answer my prayer.

₁₀My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat;

in sudden confusion they will be driven away.

₁O LORD, my God, I come to you for protection;

rescue me and save me from all who pursue me,

₂or else like a lion they will carry me off

where no one can save me,

and there they will tear me to pieces.

_3-4O LORD, my God, if I have wronged anyone,

if I have betrayed a friend

or without cause done violence to my enemy —

if I have done any of these things —

₅then let my enemies pursue me and catch me,

let them cut me down and kill me

and leave me lifeless on the ground!

₆Rise in your anger, O LORD!

Stand up against the fury of my enemies;

rouse yourself and help me!

Justice is what you demand,

₇so bring together all the peoples round you,

and rule over them from above.

₈You are the judge of the whole human race.

Judge in my favour, O LORD;

you know that I am innocent.

₉You are a righteous God

and judge our thoughts and desires.

Stop the wickedness of evildoers

and reward those who are good.

₁₀God is my protector;

he saves those who obey him.

₁₁God is a righteous judge

and always condemns the wicked.

₁₂If they do not change their ways,

God will sharpen his sword.

He bends his bow and makes it ready;

₁₃he takes up his deadly weapons

and aims his burning arrows.

₁₄See how wicked people think up evil;

they plan trouble and practise deception.

₁₅But in the traps they set for others,

they themselves get caught.

₁₆So they are punished by their own evil

and are hurt by their own violence.

₁₇I thank the LORD for his justice,

I sing praises to the LORD, the Most High.

₁O LORD, our Lord,

your greatness is seen in all the world!

Your praise reaches up to the heavens;

₂it is sung by children and babies.

You are safe and secure from all your enemies;

you stop anyone who opposes you.

₃When I look at the sky, which you have made,

at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places —

₄what are human beings, that you think of them;

mere mortals, that you care for them?

₅Yet you made them inferior only to yourself;

you crowned them with glory and honour.

₆You appointed them rulers over everything you made;

you placed them over all creation:

₇sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too;

₈the birds and the fish

and the creatures in the seas.

₉O LORD, our Lord,

your greatness is seen in all the world!