Book Order Plan

¹The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets.

²From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.

³Our God approaches, and he is not silent. Fire devours everything in his way, and a great storm rages around him.

⁴He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people.

⁵“Bring my faithful people to me — those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”

⁶Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself will be the judge. Interlude

⁷“O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God!

⁸I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer.

⁹But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens.

¹⁰For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine.

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.

¹³Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.

¹⁵Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant?

¹⁷For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash.

¹⁸When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers.

¹⁹Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies.

²⁰You sit around and slander your brother — your own mother’s son.

²¹While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.

²²Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.

²³But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

¹Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

²Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

³For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

⁴Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

⁵For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

⁶But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

⁷Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me — now let me rejoice.

⁹Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

¹³Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.

¹⁴Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

¹⁵Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

¹⁶You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

¹⁸Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit — with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

¹Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever?

²All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies.

³You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. Interlude

⁴You love to destroy others with your words, you liar!

⁵But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude

⁶The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say,

⁷“Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

⁸But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.

⁹I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.

¹Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!

²God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.

³But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

⁴Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to God.

⁵Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

⁶Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When God restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

¹Come with great power, O God, and rescue me! Defend me with your might.

²Listen to my prayer, O God. Pay attention to my plea.

³For strangers are attacking me; violent people are trying to kill me. They care nothing for God. Interlude

⁴But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive!

⁵May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them. Do as you promised and put an end to them.

⁶I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you; I will praise your name, O LORD, for it is good.

⁷For you have rescued me from my troubles and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

¹Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!

²Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

³My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.

⁴My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me.

⁵Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.

⁶Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!

⁷I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude

⁸How quickly I would escape — far from this wild storm of hatred.

⁹Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

¹⁰Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.

¹¹Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

¹²It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them.

¹³Instead, it is you — my equal, my companion and close friend.

¹⁴What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.

¹⁵Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

¹⁶But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.

¹⁸He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.

¹⁹God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.

²⁰As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.

²¹His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!

²²Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

²³But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.