Daily Wisdom Plan

¹For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who inhabit the world,

²both low and high, rich and poor together.

³My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart’s meditation brings understanding.

⁴I turn my ear to a proverb; I explain my riddle with a lyre.

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble? The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.

⁶They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches.

⁷Yet these cannot redeem a person or pay his ransom to God  —

⁸since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying  —

⁹so that he may live forever and not see the Pit.

¹⁰For one can see that the wise die; the foolish and stupid also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their graves are their permanent homes, their dwellings from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves.

¹²But despite his assets, mankind will not last; he is like the animals that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are arrogant, and of their followers, who approve of their words. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are headed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will waste away in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

¹⁵But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol, for he will take me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a person gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases.

¹⁷For when he dies, he will take nothing at all; his wealth will not follow him down.

¹⁸Though he blesses himself during his lifetime — and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself  —

¹⁹he will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light.

²⁰Mankind, with his assets but without understanding, is like the animals that perish.

¹A psalm of Asaph. [1] The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks; he summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

²From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance.

³Our God is coming; he will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes him, and a storm rages around him.

⁴On high, he summons heaven and earth in order to judge his people:

⁵“Gather my faithful ones to me, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God is the Judge. Selah

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel. I am God, your God.

⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or for your burnt offerings, which are continually before me.

⁹I will not take a bull from your household or male goats from your pens,

¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.

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

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked: “What right do you have to recite my statutes and to take my covenant on your lips?

¹⁷You hate instruction and fling my words behind you.

¹⁸When you see a thief, you make friends with him, and you associate with adulterers.

¹⁹You unleash your mouth for evil and harness your tongue for deceit.

²⁰You sit, maligning your brother, slandering your mother’s son.

²¹You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But I will rebuke you and lay out the case before you.

²²“Understand this, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to rescue you.

²³Whoever sacrifices a thank offering honors me, and whoever orders his conduct, I will show him the salvation of God.”

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba. [1] Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.

²Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against you — you alone — I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.

⁵Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

⁶Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.

⁷Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.

¹⁰God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God — God of my salvation — and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

¹⁸In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.