Psalms 97-103

Psalm 97

¹The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the distant shores be glad.

²Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

³Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.

⁴His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.

⁷All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!

⁸Zion hears and rejoices, and the towns of Judah exult because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁹For You, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.

¹²Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones, and praise His holy name.

Psalm 98

¹A Psalm. Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand and holy arm have gained Him the victory.

²The LORD has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

³He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!

⁵Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, in melodious song with the harp.

⁶With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

⁷Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it.

⁸Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy

⁹before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 99

¹The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!

²Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted above all the peoples.

³Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy!

⁴The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!

⁶Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.

⁷He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.

⁸O LORD our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, yet an avenger of their misdeeds.

⁹Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 100

¹A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

²Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs.

³Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.

⁵For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

Psalm 101

¹A Psalm of David. I will sing of Your loving devotion and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

²I will ponder the way that is blameless— when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.

³I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

⁴A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know nothing of evil.

⁵Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

⁶My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.

⁷No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who tells lies shall stand in my presence.

⁸Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

Psalm 102

¹A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You.

²Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.

³For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.

⁴My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread.

⁵Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.

⁶I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

⁷I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop.

⁸All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me.

⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears

¹⁰because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside.

¹¹My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.

¹²But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations.

¹³You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come.

¹⁴For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.

¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.

¹⁶For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.

¹⁷He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.

¹⁸Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.

¹⁹For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth

²⁰to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,

²¹that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem,

²²when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD.

²³He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days.

²⁴I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations.

²⁵In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

²⁶They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on.

²⁷But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

²⁸The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”

Psalm 103

¹Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.

²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—

³He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,

⁴who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,

⁵who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.

⁸The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.

⁹He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever.

¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

¹³As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

¹⁴For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;

¹⁶when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—

¹⁸to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

¹⁹The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.

²¹Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.

²²Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!