PSALM 94

1 O Lord, thou God of vengeance,

thou God of vengeance, shine forth!

2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;

render to the proud their deserts!

3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words,

they boast, all the evildoers.

5 They crush thy people, O Lord,

and afflict thy heritage.

6 They slay the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

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 chastens the nations, does he not chastise?

He who teaches men knowledge,

11 the Lord, knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.

12 Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O Lord,

and whom thou dost teach out of thy law

13 to give him 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 dwelt in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”

thy steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19 When the cares of my heart are many,

thy consolations cheer my soul.

20 Can wicked rulers be allied with thee,

who frame 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 bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

PSALM 95

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

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

3 For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it;

for his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

7 For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would hearken to his voice!

8 Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 when your fathers tested me,

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

10 For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who err in heart,

and they do not regard my ways.”

11 Therefore I swore in my anger

that they should not enter my rest.

PSALM 96

1 O sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols;

but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in holy array;

tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

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

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy

13 before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with his truth.