Psalm 96

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The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

94  O Lord, God of pvengeance,

O God of vengeance, qshine forth!

rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;

repay to the tproud what they deserve!

O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,

how long shall vthe wicked exult?

They pour out their warrogant words;

all xthe evildoers boast.

They ycrush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,

and murder zthe fatherless;

aand they say, The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.

bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10  He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who eteaches man knowledge

11  fthe Lordknows the thoughts of man,

that they are gbut a breath.1

12  hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13  to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,

until la pit is dug for the wicked.

14  mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;

he will not abandon his nheritage;

15  for ojustice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.

16  qWho rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17  rIf the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.

18  When I thought, tMy foot slips,

your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20  Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?

21  They yband together against the life of the righteous

and condemn zthe innocent to death.3

22  But the Lord has become my astronghold,

and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.

23  He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity

and ewipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95  Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us fmake a joyful noise to gthe rock of our salvation!

Let us hcome into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us fmake a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is ia great God,

and a great King jabove all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for khe made it,

and his hands formed kthe dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us lkneel before the Lord, our mMaker!

For he is our nGod,

and we are the people of his opasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

pToday, if you qhear his voice,

rdo not harden your hearts, as at sMeribah,

as on the day at tMassah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the utest

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my vwork.

10  wFor forty years I loathed that generation

and said, They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known xmy ways.

11  Therefore I yswore in my wrath,

They shall not enter zmy rest.

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96  aOh sing to the Lord ba new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

ctell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For dgreat is the Lord, and egreatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above fall gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the Lord gmade the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

hstrength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O ifamilies of the peoples,

jascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord kthe glory due his name;

bring lan offering, and mcome into his courts!

Worship the Lord in nthe splendor of holiness;1

otremble before him, all the earth!

10  Say among the nations, pThe Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;

he will qjudge the peoples with equity.

11  Let rthe heavens be glad, and let sthe earth rejoice;

let tthe sea roar, and all that fills it;

12  let uthe field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all vthe trees of the forest sing for joy

13  before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes wto judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

The Lord Reigns

97  xThe Lord reigns, ylet the earth rejoice;

let the many zcoastlands be glad!

aClouds and thick darkness are all around him;

brighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

cFire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

His dlightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and etrembles.

The mountains fmelt like gwax before the Lord,

before hthe Lord of all the earth.

iThe heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all jthe peoples see his glory.

All worshipers of images are kput to shame,

who make their boast in lworthless idols;

mworship him, all you gods!

Zion hears and nis glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you, O Lord, are omost high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above pall gods.

10  O you who love the Lord, qhate evil!

He rpreserves the lives of his ssaints;

he tdelivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  uLight vis sown1 for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12  wRejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and xgive thanks to his holy name!

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

98  Oh sing to the Lord ya new song,

for he has done zmarvelous things!

His aright hand and his holy arm

have worked salvation for him.

The Lord has bmade known his salvation;

he has crevealed his righteousness in dthe sight of the nations.

He has eremembered his fsteadfast love and faithfulness

to the house of Israel.

All gthe ends of the earth have seen

hthe salvation of our God.

iMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

jbreak forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

with the lyre and the ksound of melody!

With ltrumpets and the sound of mthe horn

imake a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

nLet the sea roar, and oall that fills it;

othe world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers pclap their hands;

let qthe hills sing for joy together

before the Lord, for he comes

to rjudge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity.