Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 117

Bible text(s)

Psalms 97

God the Supreme Ruler

1The LORD is king! Earth, be glad!

Rejoice, you islands of the seas!

2Clouds and darkness surround him;

he rules with righteousness and justice.

3Fire goes in front of him

and burns up his enemies round him.

4His lightning lights up the world;

the earth sees it and trembles.

5The hills melt like wax before the LORD,

before the Lord of all the earth.

6The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the nations see his glory.

7Everyone who worships idols is put to shame;

all the gods bow down before the LORD.

8The people of Zion are glad,

and the cities of Judah rejoice

because of your judgements, O LORD.

9LORD Almighty, you are ruler of all the earth;

you are much greater than all the gods.

10The LORD loves those who hate evil;

he protects the lives of his people;

he rescues them from the power of the wicked.

11Light shines on the righteous,

and gladness on the good.

12All you that are righteous be glad

because of what the LORD has done!

Remember what the holy God has done,

and give thanks to him.

Psalms 98

God the Ruler of the World

1Sing a new song to the LORD;

he has done wonderful things!

By his own power and holy strength

he has won the victory.

2The LORD announced his victory;

he made his saving power known to the nations.

3He kept his promise to the people of Israel

with loyalty and constant love for them.

All people everywhere have seen the victory of our God.

4Sing for joy to the LORD, all the earth;

praise him with songs and shouts of joy!

5Sing praises to the LORD!

Play music on the harps!

6Blow trumpets and horns,

and shout for joy to the LORD, our king.

7Roar, sea, and every creature in you;

sing, earth, and all who live on you!

8Clap your hands, you rivers;

you hills, sing together with joy before the LORD,

9because he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the peoples of the world

with justice and fairness.

Psalms 99

God the Supreme King

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.

Psalms 100

A Hymn of Praise

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.

Psalms 101

A King's Promise

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.

Psalms 102

The Prayer of a Troubled Youth

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.

Psalms 103

The Love of God

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!

Psalms 104

In Praise of the Creator

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!

Psalms 97:1-104:35GNBOpen in Bible reader
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