Today's bible teaching: Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

Psalm 107

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Psalm 107

1

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

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Let the redeemed of the LORD say this-- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

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those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. ^[1]

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Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.

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They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.

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Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

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He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.

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Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,

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for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

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Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,

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for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

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So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

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Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

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He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.

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Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,

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for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

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Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

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They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.

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Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

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He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.

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Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

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Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

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Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.

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They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

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For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.

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They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away.

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They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.

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Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

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He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

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They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

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Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

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Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

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He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

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and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

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He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;

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there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.

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They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;

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he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.

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Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

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he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.

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But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.

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The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

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Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

Today's prayer: Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies-- make straight your way before me

Psalm 5

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Psalm 5 For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.

1

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.

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Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

3

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

4

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.

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You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.

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But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.

8

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies-- make straight your way before me.

9

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

10

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

11

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12

For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Today's prayer: Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.

Psalm 123

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Psalm 123 A song of ascents.

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I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.

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As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.

3

Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.

4

We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant.

Today's bible teaching: Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall

Psalm 55

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Psalm 55 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil ^[1] of David.

1

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;

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hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

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at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.

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My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.

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Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

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I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest--

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I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah

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I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."

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Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

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Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.

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Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.

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If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.

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But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,

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with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

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Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, ^[2] for evil finds lodging among them.

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But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.

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Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

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He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

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God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them-- Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God.

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My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.

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His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.

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Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

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But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.

Today's bible teaching: For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

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Psalm 100 A psalm. For giving thanks.

1

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

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Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ^[1] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Today's bible teaching: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heapq

Psalm 113

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Psalm 113

1

Praise the LORD. ^[1] Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.

2

Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.

3

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

4

The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.

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Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,

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who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

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He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

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he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people.

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He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

Today's bible teaching: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

Psalm 1

1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

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Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

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For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.