⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil will not sojourn with you.
⁵ The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
    you hate all evildoers.
⁶ You destroy those who speak lies;
    the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.

⁷ But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house,
I will bow down toward your holy temple
    in awe of you.
⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    make your way straight before me.

⁹ For there is no truth in their mouths;
    their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
    they flatter with their tongues.
¹⁰ Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
    so that those who love your name may exult in you.
¹² For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you cover them with favor as with a shield.

Prayer:  For the prayer today, make a list of your own thanksgivings and your concerns.  As you pray, claim the promises of God and lift your concerns.

⁴ Happy are those who make
    the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after false gods.
⁵ You have multiplied, O Lordmy God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
    they would be more than can be counted.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
    but you have given me an open ear.^[b]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me.^[c]
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

⁹ I have told the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
¹⁰ I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

¹¹ Do not, O Lord, withhold
    your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    keep me safe forever.
¹² For evils have encompassed me
    without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
    until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails me.

¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
    O Lord, make haste to help me.
¹⁴ Let all those be put to shame and confusion
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who desire my hurt.
¹⁵ Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
¹⁷ As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord protects the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest,
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
¹¹ I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

⁶ We heard of it in Ephrathah;
    we found it in the fields of Jaar.
⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us worship at his footstool.”

⁸ Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let your faithful shout for joy.
¹⁰ For your servant David’s sake
    do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹ The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
    I will set on your throne.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant
    and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
    shall sit on your throne.”

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion;
    he has desired it for his habitation:
¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever;
    here I will reside, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless its provisions;
    I will satisfy its poor with bread.
¹⁶ Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and its faithful will shout for joy.
¹⁷ There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
    but on him, his crown will gleam.”

Prayer

Give us your peace, O God, that we may rejoice in your goodness to us and to all your children, and be thankful for your love revealed in Jesus Christ.  Especially we thank you for
people who reveal your truth and righteousness…
courage to be bold disciples…
those who show hospitality…
surprises that have blessed us…
the unity of the church of Jesus Christ…
Give us your peace, O God, that we may be confident of your care for us and all your children, as we remember the needs of others.

³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
    our lips are our own—who is our master?”

⁵ “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
    I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
    “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
⁶ The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
    silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷ You, O Lord, will protect us;
    you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among humankind.

Prayer:

Satisfy us with your love in the morning, and we will live this day in joy and praise.

We praise you, God our creator, for your handiwork in shaping and sustaining your wondrous creation.  Especially we thank you for them miracle and the wonder of living…
particular blessings coming to us in this day…
the resources of the earth…
gifts of creative vision and skillful craft…
the treasure stored in every human life…
(other prayers of thanksgiving)…

We dare to pray for others, God our Savior, claiming your love in Jesus Christ for the whole world, committing ourselves to care for those around us in his name.
Especially we pray for those who work for the benefit of others…
those who cannot work today…
those who teach and those who learn…
people who are poor…
the church in Europe…
(individual prayers of intercession)…
Amen.

³ How long will you assail a person,
    will you batter your victim, all of you,
    as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
    They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse.Selah

⁵ For God alone my soul waits in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us.Selah

⁹ Those of low estate are but a breath,
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰ Put no confidence in extortion,
    and set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

¹¹ Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
¹² and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.