Tag Archives: Zachary Bauer

How joyful are those who fear the Lord
    and delight in obeying his commands.
² Their children will be successful everywhere;
    an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
³ They themselves will be wealthy,
    and their good deeds will last forever.
⁴ Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
    They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
⁵ Good comes to those who lend money generously
    and conduct their business fairly.
⁶ Such people will not be overcome by evil.
    Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
⁷ They do not fear bad news;
    they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
⁸ They are confident and fearless
    and can face their foes triumphantly.
⁹ They share freely and give generously to those in need.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
    They will have influence and honor.
¹⁰ The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
    They will grind their teeth in anger;
    they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

I will thank the Lord with all my heart
    as I meet with his godly people.
² How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.
³ Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
    His righteousness never fails.
⁴ He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
    How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
⁵ He gives food to those who fear him;
    he always remembers his covenant.
⁶ He has shown his great power to his people
    by giving them the lands of other nations.
⁷ All he does is just and good,
    and all his commandments are trustworthy.
⁸ They are forever true,
    to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
⁹ He has paid a full ransom for his people.
    He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
    What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
¹⁰ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
    All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever!

¹ The Lord said to my Lord,^[a]
    “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
    making them a footstool under your feet.”

² The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem^[b];
    you will rule over your enemies.
³ When you go to war,
    your people will serve you willingly.
You are arrayed in holy garments,
    and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew.

⁴ The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow:
    “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵ The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you.
    He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts.
⁶ He will punish the nations
    and fill their lands with corpses;
    he will shatter heads over the whole earth.
⁷ But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way.
    He will be victorious.

¹ O God, whom I praise,
    don’t stand silent and aloof
² while the wicked slander me
    and tell lies about me.
³ They surround me with hateful words
    and fight against me for no reason.
⁴ I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them!
⁵ They repay evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

⁶ They say,^[a] “Get an evil person to turn against him.
    Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
⁷ When his case comes up for judgment,
    let him be pronounced guilty.
    Count his prayers as sins.
⁸ Let his years be few;
    let someone else take his position.
⁹ May his children become fatherless,
    and his wife a widow.
¹⁰ May his children wander as beggars
    and be driven from^[b] their ruined homes.
¹¹ May creditors seize his entire estate,
    and strangers take all he has earned.
¹² Let no one be kind to him;
    let no one pity his fatherless children.
¹³ May all his offspring die.
    May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
¹⁴ May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;
    may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
¹⁵ May the Lord always remember these sins,
    and may his name disappear from human memory.
¹⁶ For he refused all kindness to others;
    he persecuted the poor and needy,
    and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
¹⁷ He loved to curse others;
    now you curse him.
He never blessed others;
    now don’t you bless him.
¹⁸ Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,
    or the water he drinks,
    or the rich food he eats.
¹⁹ Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;
    may they be tied around him like a belt.”

²⁰ May those curses become the Lord’s punishment
    for my accusers who speak evil of me.
²¹ But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,
    for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
    because you are so faithful and good.
²² For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is full of pain.
²³ I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
    I am brushed off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting,
    and I am skin and bones.
²⁵ I am a joke to people everywhere;
    when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

²⁶ Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
²⁷ Let them see that this is your doing,
    that you yourself have done it, Lord.
²⁸ Then let them curse me if they like,
    but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
    But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
    may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
³⁰ But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,
    praising him to everyone.
³¹ For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them.

¹ My heart is confident in you, O God;
    no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
² Wake up, lyre and harp!
    I will wake the dawn with my song.
³ I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
⁴ For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
    May your glory shine over all the earth.

⁶ Now rescue your beloved people.
    Answer and save us by your power.
⁷ God has promised this by his holiness^[a]:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
    I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine,
    and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
    and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
⁹ But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
    and I will wipe my feet on Edom
    and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me into the fortified city?
    Who will bring me victory over Edom?
¹¹ Have you rejected us, O God?
    Will you no longer march with our armies?
¹² Oh, please help us against our enemies,
    for all human help is useless.
¹³ With God’s help we will do mighty things,
    for he will trample down our foes.

⁴ Some wandered in the wilderness,
    lost and homeless.
⁵ Hungry and thirsty,
    they nearly died.
⁶ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he rescued them from their distress.
⁷ He led them straight to safety,
    to a city where they could live.
⁸ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
    imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
¹¹ They rebelled against the words of God,
    scorning the counsel of the Most High.
¹² That is why he broke them with hard labor;
    they fell, and no one was there to help them.
¹³ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
¹⁴ He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;
    he snapped their chains.
¹⁵ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
¹⁶ For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
    he cut apart their bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools; they rebelled
    and suffered for their sins.
¹⁸ They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
    and they were knocking on death’s door.
¹⁹ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them,
    snatching them from the door of death.
²¹ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
²² Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
    and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

²³ Some went off to sea in ships,
    plying the trade routes of the world.
²⁴ They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
    his impressive works on the deepest seas.
²⁵ He spoke, and the winds rose,
    stirring up the waves.
²⁶ Their ships were tossed to the heavens
    and plunged again to the depths;
    the sailors cringed in terror.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁹ He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
³⁰ What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor!
³¹ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
³² Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
    and before the leaders of the nation.

³³ He changes rivers into deserts,
    and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
³⁴ He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,
    because of the wickedness of those who live there.
³⁵ But he also turns deserts into pools of water,
    the dry land into springs of water.
³⁶ He brings the hungry to settle there
    and to build their cities.
³⁷ They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,
    and harvest their bumper crops.
³⁸ How he blesses them!
    They raise large families there,
    and their herds of livestock increase.

³⁹ When they decrease in number and become impoverished
    through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ the Lord pours contempt on their princes,
    causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
⁴¹ But he rescues the poor from trouble
    and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
⁴² The godly will see these things and be glad,
    while the wicked are struck silent.
⁴³ Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
    they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.