Bible Reading Plan – Day 108

₁Beautiful words fill my mind,

as I compose this song for the king.

Like the pen of a good writer

my tongue is ready with a poem.

₂You are the most handsome of men;

you are an eloquent speaker.

God has always blessed you.

₃Buckle on your sword, mighty king;

you are glorious and majestic.

₄Ride on in majesty to victory

for the defence of truth and justice!

Your strength will win you great victories!

₅Your arrows are sharp,

they pierce the hearts of your enemies;

nations fall down at your feet.

₆The kingdom that God has given you

will last for ever and ever.

You rule over your people with justice;

₇you love what is right and hate what is evil.

That is why God, your God, has chosen you

and has poured out more happiness on you

than on any other king.

₈The perfume of myrrh and aloes is on your clothes;

musicians entertain you in palaces decorated with ivory.

₉Among the ladies of your court are daughters of kings,

and on the right of your throne stands the queen,

wearing ornaments of finest gold.

₁₀Bride of the king, listen to what I say —

forget your people and your relatives.

₁₁Your beauty will make the king desire you;

he is your master, so you must obey him.

₁₂The people of Tyre will bring you gifts;

rich people will try to win your favour.

₁₃The princess is in the palace — how beautiful she is!

Her gown is made of gold thread.

₁₄In her colourful gown she is led to the king,

followed by her bridesmaids,

and they also are brought to him.

₁₅With joy and gladness they come

and enter the king's palace.

₁₆You, my king, will have many sons

to succeed your ancestors as kings,

and you will make them rulers over the whole earth.

₁₇My song will keep your fame alive for ever,

and everyone will praise you for all time to come.

₁God is our shelter and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble.

₂So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken

and mountains fall into the ocean depths;

₃even if the seas roar and rage,

and the hills are shaken by the violence.

₄There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,

to the sacred house of the Most High.

₅God is in that city, and it will never be destroyed;

at early dawn he will come to its aid.

₆Nations are terrified, kingdoms are shaken;

God thunders, and the earth dissolves.

₇The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

₈Come and see what the LORD has done.

See what amazing things he has done on earth.

₉He stops wars all over the world;

he breaks bows, destroys spears,

and sets shields on fire.

₁₀“Stop fighting,” he says, “and know that I am God,

supreme among the nations,

supreme over the world.”

₁₁The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

₁Clap your hands for joy, all peoples!

Praise God with loud songs!

₂The LORD, the Most High, is to be feared;

he is a great king, ruling over all the world.

₃He gave us victory over the peoples;

he made us rule over the nations.

₄He chose for us the land where we live,

the proud possession of his people, whom he loves.

₅God goes up to his throne.

There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets,

as the LORD goes up.

₆Sing praise to God;

sing praise to our king!

₇God is king over all the world;

praise him with songs!

₈God sits on his sacred throne;

he rules over the nations.

₉The rulers of the nations assemble

with the people of the God of Abraham.

More powerful than all armies is he;

he rules supreme.

₁The LORD is great and is to be highly praised

in the city of our God, on his sacred hill.

₂Zion, the mountain of God, is high and beautiful;

the city of the great king brings joy to all the world.

₃God has shown that there is safety with him

inside the fortresses of the city.

₄The kings gathered together

and came to attack Mount Zion.

₅But when they saw it, they were amazed;

they were afraid and ran away.

₆There they were seized with fear and anguish,

like a woman about to bear a child,

₇like ships tossing in a furious storm.

₈We have heard what God has done,

and now we have seen it

in the city of our God, the LORD Almighty;

he will keep the city safe for ever.

₉Inside your Temple, O God,

we think of your constant love.

₁₀You are praised by people everywhere,

and your fame extends over all the earth.

You rule with justice;

₁₁let the people of Zion be glad!

You give right judgements;

let there be joy in the cities of Judah!

₁₂People of God, walk round Zion and count the towers;

₁₃take notice of the walls and examine the fortresses,

so that you may tell the next generation:

₁₄“This God is our God for ever and ever;

he will lead us for all time to come.”

₁Hear this, everyone!

Listen, all people everywhere,

₂great and small alike,

rich and poor together.

₃My thoughts will be clear;

I will speak words of wisdom.

₄I will turn my attention to proverbs

and explain their meaning as I play the harp.

₅I am not afraid in times of danger

when I am surrounded by enemies,

₆by evil people who trust in their riches

and boast of their great wealth.

₇A person can never redeem himself;

he cannot pay God the price for his life,

₈because the payment for a human life is too great.

What he could pay would never be enough

₉to keep him from the grave,

to let him live for ever.

₁₀Anyone can see that even the wise die,

as well as the foolish and stupid.

They all leave their riches to their descendants.

₁₁Their graves are their homes for ever;

there they stay for all time,

though they once had lands of their own.

₁₂No one's greatness can save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

₁₃See what happens to those who trust in themselves,

the fate of those who are satisfied with their wealth —

₁₄they are doomed to die like sheep,

and Death will be their shepherd.

The righteous will triumph over them,

as their bodies quickly decay

in the world of the dead far from their homes.

₁₅But God will rescue me;

he will save me from the power of death.

₁₆Don't be upset when someone becomes rich,

when his wealth grows even greater;

₁₇he cannot take it with him when he dies;

his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

₁₈Even if he is satisfied with this life

and is praised because he is successful,

₁₉he will join all his ancestors in death,

where the darkness lasts for ever.

₂₀His greatness cannot save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

₁The Almighty God, the LORD, speaks;

he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

₂God shines from Zion,

the city perfect in its beauty.

₃Our God is coming, but not in silence;

a raging fire is in front of him,

a furious storm is round him.

₄He calls heaven and earth as witnesses

to see him judge his people.

₅He says, “Gather my faithful people to me,

those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.”

₆The heavens proclaim that God is righteous,

that he himself is judge.

₇“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God.

₈I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices

and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

₉And yet I do not need bulls from your farms

or goats from your flocks;

₁₀all the animals in the forest are mine

and the cattle on thousands of hills.

₁₁All the wild birds are mine

and all living things in the fields.

₁₂“If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food,

for the world and everything in it is mine.

₁₃Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

₁₄Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God,

and give the Almighty all that you promised.

₁₅Call to me when trouble comes;

I will save you,

and you will praise me.”

₁₆But God says to the wicked,

“Why should you recite my commandments?

Why should you talk about my covenant?

₁₇You refuse to let me correct you;

you reject my commands.

₁₈You become the friend of every thief you see

and you associate with adulterers.

₁₉“You are always ready to speak evil;

you never hesitate to tell lies.

₂₀You are ready to accuse your own relatives

and to find fault with them.

₂₁You have done all this, and I have said nothing,

so you thought that I was like you.

But now I reprimand you

and make the matter plain to you.

₂₂“Listen to this, you that ignore me,

or I will destroy you,

and there will be no one to save you.

₂₃Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

and I will surely save all who obey me.”