To The Word – Day 220

₁The LORD is king;

and the people tremble.

He is enthroned above the winged creatures

and the earth shakes.

₂The LORD is mighty in Zion;

he is supreme over all the nations.

₃Everyone will praise his great and majestic name.

Holy is he!

₄Mighty king, you love what is right;

you have established justice in Israel;

you have brought righteousness and fairness.

₅Praise the LORD our God;

worship before his throne!

Holy is he!

₆Moses and Aaron were his priests,

and Samuel was one who prayed to him;

they called to the LORD, and he answered them.

₇He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;

they obeyed the laws and commands that he gave them.

₈O LORD, our God, you answered your people;

you showed them that you are a God who forgives,

even though you punished them for their sins.

₉Praise the LORD our God,

and worship at his sacred hill!

The LORD our God is holy.

₁Sing to the LORD, all the world!

₂Worship the LORD with joy;

come before him with happy songs!

₃Acknowledge that the LORD is God.

He made us, and we belong to him;

we are his people, we are his flock.

₄Enter the temple gates with thanksgiving,

go into its courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise him.

₅The LORD is good;

his love is eternal

and his faithfulness lasts for ever.

₁My song is about loyalty and justice,

and I sing it to you, O LORD.

₂My conduct will be faultless.

When will you come to me?

I will live a pure life in my house,

₃and will never tolerate evil.

I hate the actions of those who turn away from God;

I will have nothing to do with them.

₄I will not be dishonest,

and will have no dealings with evil.

₅I will get rid of anyone

who whispers evil things about someone else;

I will not tolerate anyone

who is proud and arrogant.

₆I will approve of those who are faithful to God

and will let them live in my palace.

Those who are completely honest

will be allowed to serve me.

₇No liar will live in my palace;

no hypocrite will remain in my presence.

₈Day after day I will destroy

the wicked in our land;

I will expel all who are evil

from the city of the LORD.

₁Listen to my prayer, O LORD,

and hear my cry for help!

₂When I am in trouble,

don't turn away from me!

Listen to me,

and answer me quickly when I call!

₃My life is disappearing like smoke;

my body is burning like fire.

₄I am beaten down like dry grass;

I have lost my desire for food.

₅I groan aloud;

I am nothing but skin and bones.

₆I am like a wild bird in the desert,

like an owl in abandoned ruins.

₇I lie awake;

I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.

₈All day long my enemies insult me;

those who mock me use my name in cursing.

_9-10Because of your anger and fury,

ashes are my food,

and my tears are mixed with my drink.

You picked me up and threw me away.

₁₁My life is like the evening shadows;

I am like dry grass.

₁₂But you, O LORD, are king for ever;

all generations will remember you.

₁₃You will rise and take pity on Zion;

the time has come to have mercy on her;

this is the right time.

₁₄Your servants love her,

even though she is destroyed;

they have pity on her,

even though she is in ruins.

₁₅The nations will fear the LORD;

all the kings of the earth will fear his power.

₁₆When the LORD rebuilds Zion,

he will reveal his greatness.

₁₇He will hear his forsaken people

and listen to their prayer.

₁₈Write down for the coming generation what the LORD has done,

so that people not yet born will praise him.

₁₉The LORD looked down from his holy place on high,

he looked down from heaven to earth.

₂₀He heard the groans of prisoners

and set free those who were condemned to die.

₂₁And so his name will be proclaimed in Zion,

and he will be praised in Jerusalem

₂₂when nations and kingdoms come together

and worship the LORD.

₂₃The LORD has made me weak while I am still young;

he has shortened my life.

₂₄O God, do not take me away now

before I grow old.

O LORD, you live for ever;

₂₅long ago you created the earth,

and with your own hands you made the heavens.

₂₆They will disappear, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like clothes.

You will discard them like clothes,

and they will vanish.

₂₇But you are always the same,

and your life never ends.

₂₈Our children will live in safety,

and under your protection

their descendants will be secure.

₁Praise the LORD, my soul!

All my being, praise his holy name!

₂Praise the LORD, my soul,

and do not forget how kind he is.

₃He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

₄He keeps me from the grave

and blesses me with love and mercy.

₅He fills my life with good things,

so that I stay young and strong like an eagle.

₆The LORD judges in favour of the oppressed

and gives them their rights.

₇He revealed his plans to Moses

and let the people of Israel see his mighty deeds.

₈The LORD is merciful and loving,

slow to become angry and full of constant love.

₉He does not keep on rebuking;

he is not angry for ever.

₁₀He does not punish us as we deserve

or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

₁₁As high as the sky is above the earth,

so great is his love for those who honour him.

₁₂As far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our sins from us.

₁₃As a father is kind to his children,

so the LORD is kind to those who honour him.

₁₄He knows what we are made of;

he remembers that we are dust.

₁₅As for us, our life is like grass.

We grow and flourish like a wild flower;

₁₆then the wind blows on it, and it is gone —

no one sees it again.

₁₇But for those who honour the LORD, his love lasts for ever,

and his goodness endures for all generations

₁₈of those who are true to his covenant

and who faithfully obey his commands.

₁₉The LORD placed his throne in heaven;

he is king over all.

₂₀Praise the LORD, you strong and mighty angels,

who obey his commands,

who listen to what he says.

₂₁Praise the LORD, all you heavenly powers,

you servants of his, who do his will!

₂₂Praise the LORD, all his creatures

in all the places he rules.

Praise the LORD, my soul!

₁Praise the LORD, my soul!

O LORD, my God, how great you are!

You are clothed with majesty and glory;

₂you cover yourself with light.

You have spread out the heavens like a tent

₃and built your home on the waters above.

You use the clouds as your chariot

and ride on the wings of the wind.

₄You use the winds as your messengers

and flashes of lightning as your servants.

₅You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,

and it will never be moved.

₆You placed the ocean over it like a robe,

and the water covered the mountains.

₇When you rebuked the waters, they fled;

they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.

₈They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,

to the place you had made for them.

₉You set a boundary they can never pass,

to keep them from covering the earth again.

₁₀You make springs flow in the valleys,

and rivers run between the hills.

₁₁They provide water for the wild animals;

there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

₁₂In the trees near by,

the birds make their nests and sing.

₁₃From the sky you send rain on the hills,

and the earth is filled with your blessings.

₁₄You make grass grow for the cattle

and plants for human beings to use,

so that they can grow their crops

₁₅and produce wine to make them happy,

olive oil to make them cheerful,

and bread to give them strength.

₁₆The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain —

the LORD's own trees, which he planted.

₁₇There the birds build their nests;

the storks nest in the fir trees.

₁₈The wild goats live in the high mountains,

and the rock-badgers hide in the cliffs.

₁₉You created the moon to mark the months;

the sun knows the time to set.

₂₀You made the night, and in the darkness

all the wild animals come out.

₂₁The young lions roar while they hunt,

looking for the food that God provides.

₂₂When the sun rises, they go back

and lie down in their dens.

₂₃Then people go out to do their work

and keep working until evening.

₂₄LORD, you have made so many things!

How wisely you made them all!

The earth is filled with your creatures.

₂₅There is the ocean, large and wide,

where countless creatures live,

large and small alike.

₂₆The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,

that sea monster which you made.

₂₇All of them depend on you

to give them food when they need it.

₂₈You give it to them, and they eat it;

you provide food, and they are satisfied.

₂₉When you turn away, they are afraid;

when you take away your breath, they die

and go back to the dust from which they came.

₃₀But when you give them breath, they are created;

you give new life to the earth.

₃₁May the glory of the LORD last for ever!

May the LORD be happy with what he has made!

₃₂He looks at the earth, and it trembles;

he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.

₃₃I will sing to the LORD all my life;

as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

₃₄May he be pleased with my song,

for my gladness comes from him.

₃₅May sinners be destroyed from the earth;

may the wicked be no more.

Praise the LORD, my soul!

Praise the LORD!