To The Word – Day 217

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!

₁Whoever goes to the LORD for safety,

whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,

₂can say to him,

“You are my defender and protector.

You are my God; in you I trust.”

₃He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers

and from all deadly diseases.

₄He will cover you with his wings;

you will be safe in his care;

his faithfulness will protect and defend you.

₅You need not fear any dangers at night

or sudden attacks during the day

₆or the plagues that strike in the dark

or the evils that kill in daylight.

₇A thousand may fall dead beside you,

10,000 all round you,

but you will not be harmed.

₈You will look and see

how the wicked are punished.

₉You have made the LORD your defender,

the Most High your protector,

₁₀and so no disaster will strike you,

no violence will come near your home.

₁₁God will put his angels in charge of you

to protect you wherever you go.

₁₂They will hold you up with their hands

to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.

₁₃You will trample down lions and snakes,

fierce lions and poisonous snakes.

₁₄God says, “I will save those who love me

and will protect those who acknowledge me as LORD.

₁₅When they call to me, I will answer them;

when they are in trouble, I will be with them.

I will rescue them and honour them.

₁₆I will reward them with long life;

I will save them.”

₁How good it is to give thanks to you, O LORD,

to sing in your honour, O Most High God,

₂to proclaim your constant love every morning

and your faithfulness every night,

₃with the music of stringed instruments

and with melody on the harp.

₄Your mighty deeds, O LORD, make me glad;

because of what you have done, I sing for joy.

₅How great are your actions, LORD!

How deep are your thoughts!

₆This is something a fool cannot know;

a stupid person cannot understand:

₇the wicked may grow like weeds,

those who do wrong may prosper;

yet they will be totally destroyed,

₈because you, LORD, are supreme for ever.

₉We know that your enemies will die,

and all the wicked will be defeated.

₁₀You have made me as strong as a wild ox;

you have blessed me with happiness.

₁₁I have seen the defeat of my enemies

and heard the cries of the wicked.

₁₂The righteous will flourish like palm trees;

they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon.

₁₃They are like trees planted in the house of the LORD,

that flourish in the Temple of our God,

₁₄that still bear fruit in old age

and are always green and strong.

₁₅This shows that the LORD is just,

that there is no wrong in my protector.