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Psalm 97

The Glory of God’s Reign

¹ The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
   let the many coastlands be glad!
² Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
   righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
³ Fire goes before him,
   and consumes his adversaries on every side.
⁴ His lightnings light up the world;
   the earth sees and trembles.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
   before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
   and all the peoples behold his glory.
⁷ All worshippers of images are put to shame,
   those who make their boast in worthless idols;
   all gods bow down before him.
⁸ Zion hears and is glad,
   and the towns^* of Judah rejoice,
   because of your judgements, O God.
⁹ For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
   you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ The Lord loves those who hate^* evil;
   he guards the lives of his faithful;
   he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light dawns^* for the righteous,
   and joy for the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
   and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 99

Praise to God for His Holiness

¹ The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
² The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples.
³ Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he!
⁴ Mighty King,^* lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
⁵ Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he!

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
   Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
   They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
   they kept his decrees,
   and the statutes that he gave them.

⁸ O Lord our God, you answered them;
   you were a forgiving God to them,
   but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
⁹ Extol the Lord our God,
   and worship at his holy mountain;
   for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 94

God the Avenger of the Righteous

¹ O Lord, you God of vengeance,
   you God of vengeance, shine forth!
² Rise up, O judge of the earth;
   give to the proud what they deserve!
³ O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
   how long shall the wicked exult?

⁴ They pour out their arrogant words;
   all the evildoers boast.
⁵ They crush your people, O Lord,
   and afflict your heritage.
⁶ They kill the widow and the stranger,
   they murder the orphan,
⁷ and they say, ‘The Lord does not see;
   the God of Jacob does not perceive.’

⁸ Understand, O dullest of the people;
   fools, when will you be wise?
⁹ He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
   does he not chastise?
¹¹ The Lord knows our thoughts,^*
   that they are but an empty breath.

¹² Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
   and whom you teach out of your law,
¹³ giving them respite from days of trouble,
   until a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ For the Lord will not forsake his people;
   he will not abandon his heritage;
¹⁵ for justice will return to the righteous,
   and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who rises up for me against the wicked?
   Who stands up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ If the Lord had not been my help,
   my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
¹⁸ When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’,
   your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many,
   your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
   those who contrive mischief by statute?
²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous,
   and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord has become my stronghold,
   and my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ He will repay them for their iniquity
   and wipe them out for their wickedness;
   the Lord our God will wipe them out.