To The Word – Day 221

₁Praise the LORD!

Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good;

his love is eternal.

₂Who can tell all the great things he has done?

Who can praise him enough?

₃Happy are those who obey his commands,

who always do what is right.

₄Remember me, LORD, when you help your people;

include me when you save them.

₅Let me see the prosperity of your people

and share in the happiness of your nation,

in the glad pride of those who belong to you.

₆We have sinned as our ancestors did;

we have been wicked and evil.

₇Our ancestors in Egypt did not understand God's wonderful acts;

they forgot the many times he showed them his love,

and they rebelled against the Almighty at the Red Sea.

₈But he saved them, as he had promised,

in order to show his great power.

₉He gave a command to the Red Sea,

and it dried up;

he led his people across on dry land.

₁₀He saved them from those who hated them;

he rescued them from their enemies.

₁₁But the water drowned their enemies;

not one of them was left.

₁₂Then his people believed his promises

and sang praises to him.

₁₃But they quickly forgot what he had done

and acted without waiting for his advice.

₁₄They were filled with craving in the desert

and put God to the test;

₁₅so he gave them what they asked for,

but also sent a terrible disease among them.

₁₆There in the desert they were jealous of Moses

and of Aaron, the LORD's holy servant.

₁₇Then the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan

and buried Abiram and his family;

₁₈fire came down on their followers

and burnt up those wicked people.

₁₉They made a gold bull calf at Sinai

and worshipped that idol;

₂₀they exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an animal that eats grass.

₂₁They forgot the God who had saved them

by his mighty acts in Egypt.

₂₂What wonderful things he did there!

What amazing things at the Red Sea!

₂₃When God said that he would destroy his people,

his chosen servant, Moses, stood up against God

and prevented his anger from destroying them.

₂₄Then they rejected the pleasant land,

because they did not believe God's promise.

₂₅They stayed in their tents and grumbled

and would not listen to the LORD.

₂₆So he gave them a solemn warning

that he would make them die in the desert

₂₇and scatter their descendants among the heathen,

letting them die in foreign countries.

₂₈Then at Peor, God's people joined in the worship of Baal,

and ate sacrifices offered to dead gods.

₂₉They stirred up the LORD's anger by their actions,

and a terrible disease broke out among them.

₃₀But Phinehas stood up and punished the guilty,

and the plague was stopped.

₃₁This has been remembered in his favour ever since

and will be for all time to come.

₃₂At the springs of Meribah the people made the LORD angry,

and Moses was in trouble on their account.

₃₃They made him so bitter

that he spoke without stopping to think.

₃₄They did not kill the heathen,

as the LORD had commanded them to do,

₃₅but they intermarried with them

and adopted their pagan ways.

₃₆God's people worshipped idols,

and this caused their destruction.

₃₇They offered their own sons and daughters

as sacrifices to the idols of Canaan.

₃₈They killed those innocent children,

and the land was defiled by those murders.

₃₉They made themselves impure by their actions

and were unfaithful to God.

₄₀So the LORD was angry with his people;

he was disgusted with them.

₄₁He abandoned them to the power of the heathen,

and their enemies ruled over them.

₄₂They were oppressed by their enemies

and were in complete subjection to them.

₄₃Many times the LORD rescued his people,

but they chose to rebel against him

and sank deeper into sin.

₄₄Yet the LORD heard them when they cried out,

and he took notice of their distress.

₄₅For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and because of his great love he relented.

₄₆He made all their oppressors

feel sorry for them.

₄₇Save us, O LORD our God,

and bring us back from among the nations,

so that we may be thankful

and praise your holy name.

₄₈Praise the LORD, the God of Israel;

praise him now and for ever!

Let everyone say, “Amen!”

Praise the LORD!

₁“Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good;

his love is eternal!”

₂Repeat these words in praise to the LORD,

all you whom he has saved.

He has rescued you from your enemies

₃and has brought you back from foreign countries,

from east and west, from north and south.

₄Some wandered in the trackless desert

and could not find their way to a city to live in.

₅They were hungry and thirsty

and had given up all hope.

₆Then in their trouble they called to the LORD,

and he saved them from their distress.

₇He led them by a straight road

to a city where they could live.

₈They must thank the LORD for his constant love,

for the wonderful things he did for them.

₉He satisfies those who are thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

₁₀Some were living in gloom and darkness,

prisoners suffering in chains,

₁₁because they had rebelled against the commands of Almighty God

and had rejected his instructions.

₁₂They were worn out from hard work;

they would fall down, and no one would help.

₁₃Then in their trouble they called to the LORD,

and he saved them from their distress.

₁₄He brought them out of their gloom and darkness

and broke their chains in pieces.

₁₅They must thank the LORD for his constant love,

for the wonderful things he did for them.

₁₆He breaks down doors of bronze

and smashes iron bars.

₁₇Some were fools, suffering because of their sins

and because of their evil;

₁₈they couldn't stand the sight of food

and were close to death.

₁₉Then in their trouble they called to the LORD,

and he saved them from their distress.

₂₀He healed them with his command

and saved them from the grave.

₂₁They must thank the LORD for his constant love,

for the wonderful things he did for them.

₂₂They must thank him with sacrifices,

and with songs of joy must tell all that he has done.

₂₃Some sailed over the ocean in ships,

earning their living on the seas.

₂₄They saw what the LORD can do,

his wonderful acts on the seas.

₂₅He commanded, and a mighty wind began to blow

and stirred up the waves.

₂₆The ships were lifted high in the air

and plunged down into the depths.

In such danger the sailors lost their courage;

₂₇they stumbled and staggered like drunken men —

all their skill was useless.

₂₈Then in their trouble they called to the LORD,

and he saved them from their distress.

₂₉He calmed the raging storm,

and the waves became quiet.

₃₀They were glad because of the calm,

and he brought them safe to the port they wanted.

₃₁They must thank the LORD for his constant love,

for the wonderful things he did for them.

₃₂They must proclaim his greatness in the assembly of the people

and praise him before the council of the leaders.

₃₃The LORD made rivers dry up completely

and stopped springs from flowing.

₃₄He made rich soil become a salty wilderness

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

₃₅He changed deserts into pools of water

and dry land into flowing springs.

₃₆He let hungry people settle there,

and they built a city to live in.

₃₇They sowed the fields and planted grapevines

and reaped an abundant harvest.

₃₈He blessed his people, and they had many children;

he kept their herds of cattle from decreasing.

₃₉When God's people were defeated and humiliated

by cruel oppression and suffering,

₄₀he showed contempt for their oppressors

and made them wander in trackless deserts.

₄₁But he rescued the needy from their misery

and made their families increase like flocks.

₄₂The righteous see this and are glad,

but all the wicked are put to silence.

₄₃May those who are wise think about these things;

may they consider the LORD's constant love.

₁I have complete confidence, O God!

I will sing and praise you!

Wake up, my soul!

₂Wake up, my harp and lyre!

I will wake up the sun.

₃I will thank you, O LORD, among the nations.

I will praise you among the peoples.

₄Your constant love reaches above the heavens;

your faithfulness touches the skies.

₅Show your greatness in the sky, O God,

and your glory over all the earth.

₆Save us by your might; answer my prayer,

so that the people you love may be rescued.

₇From his sanctuary God has said,

“In triumph I will divide Shechem

and distribute the Valley of Sukkoth to my people.

₈Gilead is mine, and Manasseh too;

Ephraim is my helmet

and Judah my royal sceptre.

₉But I will use Moab as my washbasin

and I will throw my sandals on Edom,

as a sign that I own it.

I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”

₁₀Who, O God, will take me into the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

₁₁Have you really rejected us?

Aren't you going to march out with our armies?

₁₂Help us against the enemy;

human help is worthless.

₁₃With God on our side we will win;

he will defeat our enemies.

₁I praise you, God; don't remain silent!

₂Wicked people and liars have attacked me.

They tell lies about me

₃and they say evil things about me,

attacking me for no reason.

₄They oppose me, even though I love them

and have prayed for them.

₅They pay me back evil for good

and hatred for love.

₆Choose some corrupt judge to try my enemy,

and let one of his own enemies accuse him.

₇May he be tried and found guilty;

may even his prayer be considered a crime!

₈May his life soon be ended;

may someone else take his job!

₉May his children become orphans,

and his wife a widow!

₁₀May his children be homeless beggars;

may they be driven from the ruins they live in!

₁₁May his creditors take away all his property,

and may strangers get everything he worked for.

₁₂May no one ever be kind to him

or care for the orphans he leaves behind.

₁₃May all his descendants die,

and may his name be forgotten in the next generation.

₁₄May the LORD remember the evil of his ancestors

and never forgive his mother's sins.

₁₅May the LORD always remember their sins,

but may they themselves be completely forgotten!

₁₆That man never thought of being kind;

he persecuted and killed

the poor, the needy, and the helpless.

₁₇He loved to curse — may he be cursed!

He hated to give blessings — may no one bless him!

₁₈He cursed as naturally as he dressed himself;

may his own curses soak into his body like water

and into his bones like oil!

₁₉May they cover him like clothes

and always be round him like a belt!

₂₀LORD, punish my enemies in that way —

those who say such evil things against me!

₂₁But my Sovereign LORD, help me as you have promised,

and rescue me because of the goodness of your love.

₂₂I am poor and needy;

I am hurt to the depths of my heart.

₂₃Like an evening shadow I am about to vanish;

I am blown away like an insect.

₂₄My knees are weak from lack of food;

I am nothing but skin and bones.

₂₅When people see me, they laugh at me;

they shake their heads in scorn.

₂₆Help me, O LORD my God;

because of your constant love, save me!

₂₇Make my enemies know

that you are the one who saves me.

₂₈They may curse me, but you will bless me.

May my persecutors be defeated,

and may I, your servant, be glad.

₂₉May my enemies be covered with disgrace;

may they wear their shame like a robe.

₃₀I will give loud thanks to the LORD;

I will praise him in the assembly of the people,

₃₁because he defends the poor

and saves them from those who condemn them to death.

₁The LORD said to my lord,

“Sit here at my right

until I put your enemies under your feet.”

₂From Zion the LORD will extend your royal power.

“Rule over your enemies,” he says.

₃On the day you fight your enemies,

your people will volunteer.

Like the dew of early morning

your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

₄The LORD made a solemn promise and will not take it back:

“You will be a priest for ever

in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”

₅The Lord is at your right side;

when he becomes angry, he will defeat kings.

₆He will pass judgement on the nations

and fill the battlefield with corpses;

he will defeat kings all over the earth.

₇The king will drink from the stream by the road,

and strengthened, he will stand victorious.

₁Praise the LORD!

With all my heart I will thank the LORD

in the assembly of his people.

₂How wonderful are the things the LORD does!

All who are delighted with them want to understand them.

₃All he does is full of honour and majesty;

his righteousness is eternal.

₄The LORD does not let us forget his wonderful actions;

he is kind and merciful.

₅He provides food for those who honour him;

he never forgets his covenant.

₆He has shown his power to his people

by giving them the lands of foreigners.

₇In all he does he is faithful and just;

all his commands are dependable.

₈They last for all time;

they were given in truth and righteousness.

₉He set his people free

and made an eternal covenant with them.

Holy and mighty is he!

₁₀The way to become wise is to honour the LORD;

he gives sound judgement to all who obey his commands.

He is to be praised for ever.