Bible Reading Plan – Day 115

₁Listen to me, LORD, and answer me,

for I am helpless and weak.

₂Save me from death, because I am loyal to you;

save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you.

₃You are my God, so be merciful to me;

I pray to you all day long.

₄Make your servant glad, O Lord,

because my prayers go up to you.

₅You are good to us and forgiving,

full of constant love for all who pray to you.

₆Listen, LORD, to my prayer;

hear my cries for help.

₇I call to you in times of trouble,

because you answer my prayers.

₈There is no god like you, O Lord,

not one has done what you have done.

₉All the nations that you have created

will come and bow down to you;

they will praise your greatness.

₁₀You are mighty and do wonderful things;

you alone are God.

₁₁Teach me, LORD, what you want me to do,

and I will obey you faithfully;

teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

₁₂I will praise you with all my heart, O Lord my God;

I will proclaim your greatness for ever.

₁₃How great is your constant love for me!

You have saved me from the grave itself.

₁₄The proud are coming against me, O God;

a cruel gang is trying to kill me —

people who pay no attention to you.

₁₅But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God,

always patient, always kind and faithful.

₁₆Turn to me and have mercy on me;

strengthen me and save me,

because I serve you, just as my mother did.

₁₇Show me proof of your goodness, LORD;

those who hate me will be ashamed

when they see that you have given me comfort and help.

₁The LORD built his city on the sacred hill;

₂more than any other place in Israel

he loves the city of Jerusalem.

₃Listen, city of God,

to the wonderful things he says about you:

₄“I will include Egypt and Babylonia

when I list the nations that obey me;

I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem

the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia.”

₅Of Zion it will be said

that all nations belong there

and that the Almighty will make her strong.

₆The LORD will write a list of the peoples

and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem.

₇They dance and sing,

“In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”

₁LORD God, my saviour, I cry out all day,

and at night I come before you.

₂Hear my prayer;

listen to my cry for help!

₃So many troubles have fallen on me

that I am close to death.

₄I am like all others who are about to die;

all my strength is gone.

₅I am abandoned among the dead;

I am like the slain lying in their graves,

those you have forgotten completely,

who are beyond your help.

₆You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb,

into the darkest and deepest pit.

₇Your anger lies heavy on me,

and I am crushed beneath its waves.

₈You have caused my friends to abandon me;

you have made me repulsive to them.

I am closed in and cannot escape;

₉my eyes are weak from suffering.

LORD, every day I call to you

and lift my hands to you in prayer.

₁₀Do you perform miracles for the dead?

Do they rise up and praise you?

₁₁Is your constant love spoken of in the grave

or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

₁₂Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness

or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

₁₃LORD, I call to you for help;

every morning I pray to you.

₁₄Why do you reject me, LORD?

Why do you turn away from me?

₁₅Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death;

I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

₁₆Your furious anger crushes me;

your terrible attacks destroy me.

₁₇All day long they surround me like a flood;

they close in on me from every side.

₁₈You have made even my closest friends abandon me,

and darkness is my only companion.

₁O LORD, I will always sing of your constant love;

I will proclaim your faithfulness for ever.

₂I know that your love will last for all time,

that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

₃You said, “I have made a covenant with the man I chose;

I have promised my servant David,

₄‘A descendant of yours will always be king;

I will preserve your dynasty for ever.’ ”

₅The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do;

the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, LORD.

₆No one in heaven is like you, LORD;

none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

₇You are feared in the council of the holy ones;

and all of them stand in awe of you.

₈LORD God Almighty, none is as mighty as you;

in all things you are faithful, O LORD.

₉You rule over the powerful sea;

you calm its angry waves.

₁₀You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it;

with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

₁₁Heaven is yours, the earth also;

you made the world and everything in it.

₁₂You created the north and the south;

Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

₁₃How powerful you are!

How great is your strength!

₁₄Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice;

love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

₁₅How happy are the people who worship you with songs,

who live in the light of your kindness!

₁₆Because of you they rejoice all day long,

and they praise you for your goodness.

₁₇You give us great victories;

in your love you make us triumphant.

₁₈You, O LORD, chose our protector;

you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

₁₉In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants,

“I have given help to a famous soldier;

I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

₂₀I have made my servant David king

by anointing him with holy oil.

₂₁My strength will always be with him,

my power will make him strong.

₂₂His enemies will never succeed against him;

the wicked will not defeat him.

₂₃I will crush his foes

and kill everyone who hates him.

₂₄I will love him and be loyal to him;

I will make him always victorious.

₂₅I will extend his kingdom

from the Mediterranean to the River Euphrates.

₂₆He will say to me,

‘You are my father and my God;

you are my protector and saviour.’

₂₇I will make him my firstborn son,

the greatest of all kings.

₂₈I will always keep my promise to him,

and my covenant with him will last for ever.

₂₉His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky;

a descendant of his will always be king.

₃₀“But if his descendants disobey my law

and do not live according to my commands,

₃₁if they disregard my instructions

and do not keep my commandments,

₃₂then I will punish them for their sins;

I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

₃₃But I will not stop loving David

or fail to keep my promise to him.

₃₄I will not break my covenant with him

or take back even one promise I made him.

₃₅“Once and for all I have promised by my holy name:

I will never lie to David.

₃₆He will always have descendants,

and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

₃₇It will be as permanent as the moon,

that faithful witness in the sky.”

₃₈But you are angry with your chosen king;

you have deserted and rejected him.

₃₉You have broken your covenant with your servant

and thrown his crown in the mud.

₄₀You have torn down the walls of his city

and left his forts in ruins.

₄₁All who pass by steal his belongings;

all his neighbours laugh at him.

₄₂You have given the victory to his enemies;

you have made them all happy.

₄₃You have made his weapons useless

and let him be defeated in battle.

₄₄You have taken away his royal sceptre

and hurled his throne to the ground.

₄₅You have made him old before his time

and covered him with disgrace.

₄₆LORD, will you hide yourself for ever?

How long will your anger burn like fire?

₄₇Remember how short my life is;

remember that you created all of us mortal!

₄₈Who can live and never die?

How can human beings keep themselves from the grave?

₄₉Lord, where are the former proofs of your love?

Where are the promises you made to David?

₅₀Don't forget how I, your servant, am insulted,

how I endure all the curses of the heathen.

₅₁Your enemies insult your chosen king, O LORD!

They insult him wherever he goes.

₅₂Praise the LORD for ever!