Psalms 96; Psalms 97; Psalms 98; Psalms 99; Psalms 100; Psalms 101; Psalms 102

Psalms 96

1 Sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth!

2 Sing to the LORD! Bless his name! Share the news of his saving work every single day!

3 Declare God's glory among the nations; declare his wondrous works among all people

4 because the LORD is great and so worthy of praise. He is awesome beyond all other gods

5 because all the gods of the nations are just idols, but it is the LORD who created heaven!

6 Greatness and grandeur are in front of him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Give to the LORD, all families of the nations— give to the LORD glory and power!

8 Give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts! Enter his courtyards!

9 Bow down to the LORD in his holy splendor! Tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Tell the nations, "The LORD rules! Yes, he set the world firmly in place; it won't be shaken. He will judge all people fairly."

11 Let heaven celebrate! Let the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it roar!

12 Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate! Then all the trees of the forest too will shout out joyfully

13 before the LORD because he is coming! He is coming to establish justice on the earth! He will establish justice in the world rightly. He will establish justice among all people fairly.

Psalms 97

1 The LORD rules! Let the earth rejoice! Let all the islands celebrate!

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround God. His throne is built on righteousness and justice.

3 Fire proceeds before him, burning up his enemies on every side.

4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees it and trembles!

5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of the whole world!

6 Heaven has proclaimed God's righteousness, and all nations have seen his glory.

7 All those who worship images, those who are proud of idols, are put to shame. All gods bow down to the Lord!

8 Zion has heard and celebrates, the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your acts of justice, LORD,

9 because you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth, because you are so superior to all other gods.

10 Those of you who love the LORD, hate evil! God guards the lives of his faithful ones, delivering them from the power of the wicked.

11 Light is planted like seed for the righteous person; joy too for those whose heart is right.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, righteous ones! Give thanks to his holy name!

Psalms 98

1 Sing to the LORD a new song because he has done wonderful things! His own strong hand and his own holy arm have won the victory!

2 The LORD has made his salvation widely known; he has revealed his righteousness in the eyes of all the nations.

3 God has remembered his loyal love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; every corner of the earth has seen our God's salvation.

4 Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth! Be happy! Rejoice out loud! Sing your praises!

5 Sing your praises to the LORD with the lyre— with the lyre and the sound of music.

6 With trumpets and a horn blast, shout triumphantly before the LORD, the king!

7 Let the sea and everything in it roar; the world and all its inhabitants too.

8 Let all the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains rejoice out loud altogether

9 before the LORD because he is coming to establish justice on the earth! He will establish justice in the world rightly; he will establish justice among all people fairly.

Psalms 99

1 The LORD rules— the nations shake! He sits enthroned on the winged heavenly creatures— the earth quakes!

2 The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.

3 Let them thank your great and awesome name. He is holy!

4 Strong king who loves justice, you are the one who established what is fair. You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob.

5 Magnify the LORD, our God! Bow low at his footstool! He is holy!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel too among those who called on his name. They cried out to the LORD, and he himself answered them—

7 he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them.

8 LORD our God, you answered them. To them you were a God who forgives but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds.

9 Magnify the LORD our God! Bow low at his holy mountain because the LORD our God is holy!

Psalms 100

1 Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth!

2 Serve the LORD with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy!

3 Know that the LORD is God— he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name!

5 Because the LORD is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

Psalms 101

1 Oh, let me sing about faithful love and justice! I want to sing my praises to you, LORD!

2 I want to study the way of integrity— how long before it gets here? I will walk with a heart of integrity in my own house.

3 I won't set my eyes on anything worthless. I hate wrongdoing; none of that will stick to me.

4 A corrupt heart will be far from me. I won't be familiar with evil.

5 I will destroy anyone who secretly tells lies about a neighbor. I can't stomach anyone who has proud eyes or an arrogant heart.

6 My eyes focus on those who are faithful in the land, to have them close to me. The person who walks without blame will work for me.

7 But the person who acts deceitfully won't stay in my house. The person who tells lies won't last for long before me.

8 Every morning I will destroy all those who are wicked in the land in order to eliminate all evildoers from the LORD's city.

Psalms 102

1 LORD, hear my prayer! Let my cry reach you!

2 Don't hide your face from me in my time of trouble! Listen to me! Answer me quickly as I cry out!

3 Because my days disappear like smoke, my bones are burned up as if in an oven;

4 my heart is smashed like dried-up grass. I even forget to eat my food

5 because of my intense groans. My bones are protruding from my skin.

6 I'm like some wild owl— like some screech owl in the desert.

7 I lie awake all night. I'm all alone like a bird on a roof.

8 All day long my enemies make fun of me; those who mock me curse using my name!

9 I've been eating ashes instead of bread. I've been mixing tears into my drinks

10 because of your anger and wrath, because you picked me up and threw me away.

11 My days are like a shadow soon gone. I'm dried up like dead grass.

12 But you, LORD, rule forever! Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!

13 You will stand up— you'll have compassion on Zion because it is time to have mercy on her— the time set for that has now come!

14 Your servants cherish Zion's stones; they show mercy even to her dirt.

15 The nations will honor the LORD's name; all the earth's rulers will honor your glory

16 because the LORD will rebuild Zion; he will be seen there in his glory.

17 God will turn to the prayer of the impoverished; he won't despise their prayers.

18 Let this be written down for the next generation so that people not yet created will praise the LORD:

19 The LORD looked down from his holy summit, surveyed the earth from heaven,

20 to hear the prisoners' groans, to set free those condemned to death,

21 that the LORD's name may be declared in Zion and his praise declared in Jerusalem,

22 when all people are gathered together— all kingdoms—to serve the LORD.

23 God broke my strength in midstride, cutting my days short.

24 I said, "My God, don't take me away in the prime of life— your years go on from one generation to the next!

25 You laid the earth's foundations long ago; the skies are your handiwork.

26 These things will pass away, but you will last. All of these things will wear out like clothing; you change them like clothes, and they pass on.

27 But you are the one! Your years never end!

28 Let your servants' children live safe; let your servants' descendants live secure in your presence."