Bible Reading Plan – Day 112

₁Save me, O God!

LORD, help me now!

₂May those who try to kill me

be defeated and confused.

May those who are happy because of my troubles

be turned back and disgraced.

₃May those who jeer at me

be dismayed by their defeat.

₄May all who come to you

be glad and joyful.

May all who are thankful for your salvation

always say, “How great is God!”

₅I am weak and poor;

come to me quickly, O God.

You are my saviour, O LORD —

hurry to my aid!

₁LORD, I have come to you for protection;

never let me be defeated!

₂Because you are righteous, help me and rescue me.

Listen to me and save me!

₃Be my secure shelter

and a strong fortress to protect me;

you are my refuge and defence.

₄My God, rescue me from the wicked,

from the power of those who are cruel and evil.

₅Sovereign LORD, I put my hope in you;

I have trusted in you since I was young.

₆I have relied on you all my life;

you have protected me since the day I was born.

I will always praise you.

₇My life has been an example to many,

because you have been my strong defender.

₈All day long I praise you

and proclaim your glory.

₉Do not reject me now that I am old;

do not abandon me now that I am feeble.

₁₀My enemies want to kill me;

they talk and plot against me.

₁₁They say, “God has abandoned him;

let's go after him and catch him;

there is no one to rescue him.”

₁₂Don't stay so far away, O God;

my God, hurry to my aid!

₁₃May those who attack me

be defeated and destroyed.

May those who try to hurt me

be shamed and disgraced.

₁₄I will always put my hope in you;

I will praise you more and more.

₁₅I will tell of your goodness;

all day long I will speak of your salvation,

though it is more than I can understand.

₁₆I will go in the strength of the LORD God;

I will proclaim your goodness, yours alone.

₁₇You have taught me ever since I was young,

and I still tell of your wonderful acts.

₁₈Now that I am old and my hair is grey,

do not abandon me, O God!

Be with me while I proclaim your power and might

to all generations to come.

₁₉Your righteousness, God, reaches the skies.

You have done great things;

there is no one like you.

₂₀You have sent troubles and suffering on me,

but you will restore my strength;

you will keep me from the grave.

₂₁You will make me greater than ever;

you will comfort me again.

₂₂I will indeed praise you with the harp;

I will praise your faithfulness, my God.

On my harp I will play hymns to you,

the Holy One of Israel.

₂₃I will shout for joy as I play for you;

with my whole being I will sing

because you have saved me.

₂₄I will speak of your righteousness all day long,

because those who tried to harm me

have been defeated and disgraced.

₁Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God;

share with him your own justice,

₂so that he will rule over your people with justice

and govern the oppressed with righteousness.

₃May the land enjoy prosperity;

may it experience righteousness.

₄May the king judge the poor fairly;

may he help the needy

and defeat their oppressors.

₅May your people worship you as long as the sun shines,

as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

₆May the king be like rain on the fields,

like showers falling on the land.

₇May righteousness flourish in his lifetime,

and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

₈His kingdom will reach from sea to sea,

from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

₉The peoples of the desert will bow down before him;

his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.

₁₀The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts;

the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him offerings.

₁₁All kings will bow down before him;

all nations will serve him.

₁₂He rescues the poor who call to him,

and those who are needy and neglected.

₁₃He has pity on the weak and poor;

he saves the lives of those in need.

₁₄He rescues them from oppression and violence;

their lives are precious to him.

₁₅Long live the king!

May he be given gold from Sheba;

may prayers be said for him at all times;

may God's blessings be on him always!

₁₆May there be plenty of corn in the land;

may the hills be covered with crops,

as fruitful as those of Lebanon.

May the cities be filled with people,

like fields full of grass.

₁₇May the king's name never be forgotten;

may his fame last as long as the sun.

May all nations ask God to bless them

as he has blessed the king.

₁₈Praise the LORD, the God of Israel!

He alone does these wonderful things.

₁₉Praise his glorious name for ever!

May his glory fill the whole world.

₂₀This is the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse.

₁God is indeed good to Israel,

to those who have pure hearts.

₂But I had nearly lost confidence;

my faith was almost gone

₃because I was jealous of the proud

when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

₄They do not suffer pain;

they are strong and healthy.

₅They do not suffer as other people do;

they do not have the troubles that others have.

₆And so they wear pride like a necklace

and violence like a robe;

₇their hearts pour out evil,

and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

₈They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;

they are proud and make plans to oppress others.

₉They speak evil of God in heaven

and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,

₁₀so that even God's people turn to them

and eagerly believe whatever they say.

₁₁They say, “God will not know;

the Most High will not find out.”

₁₂That is what the wicked are like.

They have plenty and are always getting more.

₁₃Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure

and have not committed sin?

₁₄O God, you have made me suffer all day long;

every morning you have punished me.

₁₅If I had said such things,

I would not be acting as one of your people.

₁₆I tried to think this problem through,

but it was too difficult for me

₁₇until I went into your Temple.

Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

₁₈You will put them in slippery places

and make them fall to destruction!

₁₉They are instantly destroyed;

they go down to a horrible end.

₂₀They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;

when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

₂₁When my thoughts were bitter

and my feelings were hurt,

₂₂I was as stupid as an animal;

I did not understand you.

₂₃Yet I always stay close to you,

and you hold me by the hand.

₂₄You guide me with your instruction

and at the end you will receive me with honour.

₂₅What else have I in heaven but you?

Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?

₂₆My mind and my body may grow weak,

but God is my strength;

he is all I ever need.

₂₇Those who abandon you will certainly perish;

you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

₂₈But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,

to find protection with the Sovereign LORD

and to proclaim all that he has done!

₁Why have you abandoned us like this, O God?

Will you be angry with your own people for ever?

₂Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago,

whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe.

Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

₃Walk over these total ruins;

our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

₄Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple;

they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.

₅They looked like woodmen

cutting down trees with their axes.

₆They smashed all the wooden panels

with their axes and sledgehammers.

₇They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire;

they desecrated the place where you are worshipped.

₈They wanted to crush us completely;

they burnt down every holy place in the land.

₉All our sacred symbols are gone;

there are no prophets left,

and no one knows how long this will last.

₁₀How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you?

Will they insult your name for ever?

₁₁Why have you refused to help us?

Why do you keep your hands behind you?

₁₂But you have been our king from the beginning, O God;

you have saved us many times.

₁₃With your mighty strength you divided the sea

and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;

₁₄you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan

and fed his body to desert animals.

₁₅You made springs and fountains flow;

you dried up large rivers.

₁₆You created the day and the night;

you set the sun and the moon in their places;

₁₇you set the limits of the earth;

you made summer and winter.

₁₈But remember, O LORD, that your enemies laugh at you,

that they are godless and despise you.

₁₉Don't abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies;

don't forget your persecuted people!

₂₀Remember the covenant you made with us.

There is violence in every dark corner of the land.

₂₁Don't let the oppressed be put to shame;

let those poor and needy people praise you.

₂₂Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause!

Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.

₂₃Don't forget the angry shouts of your enemies,

the continuous noise made by your foes.