Psalm 100:title–102:28

A psalm for giving thanks.

¹Shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on earth.

²Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come to him with songs of joy.

³I want you to realize that the Lord is God.

He made us, and we belong to him.

We are his people.

We are the sheep belonging to his flock.

⁴Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple.

Give praise as you enter its courtyards.

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever.

It will last for all time to come.

Psalm 101

A psalm of David.

¹I will sing about your love and fairness.

Lord, I will sing praise to you.

²I will be careful to lead a life

that is without blame.

When will you come and help me?

I will lead a life

that is without blame in my house.

³I won’t look at anything that is evil.

I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you.

I don’t even want people like that around me.

⁴I will stay away from those whose hearts are twisted.

I don’t want to have anything to do with evil.

⁵I will get rid of anyone

who tells lies about his neighbor in secret.

I won’t put up with anyone

whose eyes and heart are proud.

⁶I will look with favor on the faithful people in the land.

They will live with me.

Those whose lives are without blame will serve me.

⁷No one who lies and cheats

will live in my house.

No one who tells lies

will serve me.

⁸Every morning I will get rid of

all the sinful people in the land.

I will remove from the city of the Lord

everyone who does what is evil.

Psalm 102

A prayer of a suffering man when he is weak and pours out his problems to the Lord.

¹Lord, hear my prayer.

Listen to my cry for help.

²Don’t turn your face away from me

when I’m in trouble.

Pay attention to me.

When I call out for help, answer me quickly.

³My days are disappearing like smoke.

My body burns like glowing coals.

⁴My strength has dried up like grass.

I even forget to eat my food.

⁵I groan out loud because of my suffering.

I’m nothing but skin and bones.

⁶I’m like a desert owl.

I’m like an owl among destroyed buildings.

⁷I can’t sleep. I’ve become

like a bird alone on a roof.

⁸All day long my enemies laugh at me.

Those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.

⁹I eat ashes as my food.

My tears fall into what I’m drinking.

¹⁰You were very angry with me.

So you picked me up and threw me away.

¹¹The days of my life are like an evening shadow.

I dry up like grass.

¹²But Lord, you are seated on your throne forever.

Your fame will continue for all time to come.

¹³You will rise up and show deep concern for Zion.

The time has come for you to show favor to it.

¹⁴The stones of your destroyed city are priceless to us.

Even its dust brings deep concern to us.

¹⁵The nations will worship the Lord.

All of the kings on earth will respect his glorious power.

¹⁶The Lord will build Zion again.

He will appear in his glory.

¹⁷He will answer the prayer of those who don’t have anything.

He won’t say no to their cry for help.

¹⁸Let this be written down for those born after us.

Then people who are not yet born can praise the Lord.

¹⁹Here is what should be written.

“The Lord looked down from his temple in heaven.

From heaven he viewed the earth.

²⁰He heard the groans of the prisoners.

He set free those who were sentenced to death.”

²¹So people will talk about him in Zion.

They will praise him in Jerusalem.

²²Nations and kingdoms

will gather there to worship the Lord.

²³When I was still young, he took away my strength.

He wasn’t going to let me live much longer.

²⁴So I said, “My God, don’t let me die in the middle of my life.

You will live for all time to come.

²⁵In the beginning you made the earth secure.

You placed it on its foundations.

Your hands created the heavens.

²⁶They will pass away. But you will remain.

They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.

You will make them like clothes

that are taken off and thrown away.

²⁷But you remain the same.

Your years will never end.

²⁸Our children will live with you.

Their sons and daughters will be safe in your care.”