To The Word – Day 224

₁What if the LORD had not been on our side?

Answer, O Israel!

₂“If the LORD had not been on our side

when our enemies attacked us,

₃then they would have swallowed us alive

in their furious anger against us;

₄then the flood would have carried us away,

the water would have covered us,

₅the raging torrent would have drowned us.”

₆Let us thank the LORD,

who has not let our enemies destroy us.

₇We have escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap;

the trap is broken, and we are free!

₈Our help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

₁Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,

which can never be shaken, never be moved.

₂As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds his people

now and for ever.

₃The wicked will not always rule over the land of the righteous;

if they did, the righteous themselves might do evil.

₄LORD, do good to those who are good,

to those who obey your commands.

₅But when you punish the wicked,

punish also those who abandon your ways.

Peace be with Israel!

₁When the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem,

it was like a dream!

₂How we laughed, how we sang for joy!

Then the other nations said about us,

“The LORD did great things for them.”

₃Indeed he did great things for us;

how happy we were!

₄LORD, make us prosperous again,

just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.

₅Let those who wept as they sowed their seed,

gather the harvest with joy!

₆Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed

will come back singing for joy,

as they bring in the harvest.

₁Praise the LORD!

It is good to sing praise to our God;

it is pleasant and right to praise him.

₂The LORD is restoring Jerusalem;

he is bringing back the exiles.

₃He heals the broken-hearted

and bandages their wounds.

₄He has decided the number of the stars

and calls each one by name.

₅Great and mighty is our Lord;

his wisdom cannot be measured.

₆He raises the humble,

but crushes the wicked to the ground.

₇Sing hymns of praise to the LORD;

play music on the harp to our God.

₈He spreads clouds over the sky;

he provides rain for the earth

and makes grass grow on the hills.

₉He gives animals their food

and feeds the young ravens when they call.

₁₀His pleasure is not in strong horses,

nor his delight in brave soldiers;

₁₁but he takes pleasure in those who honour him,

in those who trust in his constant love.

₁₂Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

₁₃He keeps your gates strong;

he blesses your people.

₁₄He keeps your borders safe

and satisfies you with the finest wheat.

₁₅He gives a command to the earth,

and what he says is quickly done.

₁₆He spreads snow like a blanket

and scatters frost like dust.

₁₇He sends hail like gravel;

no one can endure the cold he sends!

₁₈Then he gives a command, and the ice melts;

he sends the wind, and the water flows.

₁₉He gives his message to his people,

his instructions and laws to Israel.

₂₀He has not done this for other nations;

they do not know his laws.

Praise the LORD!