Daily Wisdom Plan

¹I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

²I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

³My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared.

⁴For you have judged in my favor; from your throne you have judged with fairness.

⁵You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have erased their names forever.

⁶The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.

⁷But the LORD reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne.

⁸He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness.

⁹The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

¹²For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

¹³LORD, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

¹⁴Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.

¹⁶The LORD is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude

¹⁷The wicked will go down to the grave. This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

¹⁸But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

¹⁹Arise, O LORD! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Judge the nations!

²⁰Make them tremble in fear, O LORD. Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude

¹O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?

²The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.

³For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.

⁴The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.

⁵Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies.

⁶They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”

⁷Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.

⁸They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims.

⁹Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets.

¹⁰Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.

¹¹The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

¹²Arise, O LORD! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!

¹³Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”

¹⁴But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.

¹⁵Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed.

¹⁶The LORD is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land.

¹⁷LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

¹⁸You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.

¹I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

²The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right.

³The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?”

⁴But the LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.

⁵The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence.

⁶He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.

⁷For the righteous LORD loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.

¹Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!

²Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.

³May the LORD cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues.

⁴They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own — who can stop us?”

⁵The LORD replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”

⁶The LORD’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

⁷Therefore, LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation,

⁸even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.