Daily Text and Bible Reading: Friday, June 28 [Press play below]

A song. A melody of the sons of Korah.
48.1 Jehovah is great and most worthy of praise In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
48.2 Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the Grand King.
48.3 In her fortified towers, God has made known that he is a secure refuge.
48.4 For look! kings have assembled; Together they have advanced.
48.5 When they saw it, they were amazed. They panicked and fled in terror.
48.6 Trembling seized them there, Anguish like that of a woman giving birth.
48.7 With an east wind you wreck the ships of Tarshish.
48.8 What we heard about, we have now seen for ourselves In the city of Jehovah of armies, in the city of our God. God will firmly establish it forever.
(Selah)
48.9 We ponder your loyal love, O God, Within your temple.
48.10 Like your name, O God, your praise Reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
48.11 May Mount Zion rejoice, May the towns of Judah be joyful, because of your judgments.
48.12 March around Zion; go all around it; Count its towers.
48.13 Set your hearts upon its ramparts. Inspect its fortified towers, So that you may tell about it to future generations.
48.14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will guide us forevermore.
To the director. Of the sons of Korah. A melody.
49.1 Hear this, all you peoples. Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world,
49.2 Both small and great, Rich and poor alike.
49.3 My own mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will show understanding.
49.4 I will pay attention to a proverb; I will expound my riddle with the harp.
49.5 Why should I fear during times of trouble, When I am surrounded by the evil of those trying to overthrow me?
49.6 Those who are trusting in their wealth And who boast about their great riches,
49.7 None of them can ever redeem a brother Or give to God a ransom for him,
49.8 (The ransom price for their life is so precious That it is always beyond their reach);
49.9 That he should live forever and not see the pit.
49.10 He sees that even wise people die; The stupid and the unreasoning perish together, And they must leave their wealth to others.
49.11 Their inner wish is that their houses will last forever, Their tents to generation after generation. They have named their estates after themselves.
49.12 But man, although honored, will not remain; He is no better than the beasts that perish.
49.13 This is the way of the stupid ones And of those who follow them, who take pleasure in their empty words.
(Selah)
49.14 They are assigned like sheep to the Grave. Death will shepherd them; The upright will rule over them in the morning. Every trace of them will fade away; The Grave rather than a palace will be their home.
49.15 But God will redeem me from the power of the Grave, For he will take hold of me.
(Selah)
49.16 Do not be afraid because a man becomes rich, Because the splendor of his house increases,
49.17 For when he dies he can take nothing with him; His splendor will not go down with him.
49.18 For during his lifetime he congratulates himself. (People praise you when you prosper.)
49.19 But he finally joins the generation of his forefathers. They will never again see the light.
49.20 A man who does not understand this, although honored, Is no better than the beasts that perish.
A melody of Asaph.
50.1 The God of gods, Jehovah, has spoken; He summons the earth From the rising of the sun until its setting.
50.2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
50.3 Our God will come and cannot remain silent. Before him is a consuming fire, And a great storm rages all around him.
50.4 He summons the heavens above and the earth, So as to judge his people:
50.5 “Gather to me my loyal ones, Those making a covenant with me over sacrifice.”
50.6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, For God himself is Judge.
(Selah)
50.7 “Listen, O my people, and I will speak; Israel, I will bear witness against you. I am God, your God.
50.8 I do not reprove you because of your sacrifices, Nor because of your whole burnt offerings that are constantly before me.
50.9 I do not need to take a bull from your house, Nor goats from your pens.
50.10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine, Even the beasts upon a thousand mountains.
50.11 I know every bird of the mountains; The countless animals of the field are mine.
50.12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, For the productive land and everything in it is mine.
50.13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls And drink the blood of goats?
50.14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God, And pay your vows to the Most High;
50.15 Call on me in the time of distress. I will rescue you, and you will glorify me.”
50.16 But God will say to the wicked: “What right do you have to relate my regulations Or to speak about my covenant?
50.17 For you hate discipline, And you keep turning your back on my words.
50.18 When you see a thief, you approve of him, And you keep company with adulterers.
50.19 You use your mouth to spread what is bad, And deception is attached to your tongue.
50.20 You sit and speak against your own brother; You reveal the faults of your own mother’s son.
50.21 When you did these things, I remained silent, So you thought that I would be just like you. But now I will reprove you, And I will state my case against you.
50.22 Please consider this, you who forget God, So that I may not tear you to pieces with no one to rescue you.
50.23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me, And as for the one who follows a set course, I will cause him to see salvation by God.”
To the director. A melody of David, when Nathan the prophet came in to him after David had relations with Bath-sheba.
51.1 Show me favor, O God, according to your loyal love. Blot out my transgressions according to your great mercy.
51.2 Thoroughly wash me from my error, And cleanse me from my sin.
51.3 For I am well-aware of my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
51.4 Against you—you above all—I have sinned; What is bad in your eyes I have done. Therefore, you are righteous when you speak, You are right in your judgment.
51.5 Look! I was born guilty of error, And my mother conceived me in sin.
51.6 Look! You find pleasure in truth in the inner person; Teach my innermost self true wisdom.
51.7 Purify me from my sin with hyssop, so that I will be clean; Wash me, so that I will be whiter than snow.
51.8 Let me hear sounds of joy and rejoicing, So that the bones you crushed will rejoice.
51.9 Turn your face away from my sins, And wipe away all my errors.
51.10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, And put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one.
51.11 Do not cast me out from your presence; And do not take your holy spirit away from me.
51.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation; Stir within me a willingness to obey you.
51.13 I will teach transgressors your ways, So that sinners will return to you.
51.14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, So that my tongue may joyfully declare your righteousness.
51.15 O Jehovah, open my lips, So that my mouth may declare your praise.
51.16 For you do not want a sacrifice—otherwise I would give it; You do not find delight in a whole burnt offering.
51.17 The sacrifices pleasing to God are a broken spirit; A heart broken and crushed, O God, you will not reject.
51.18 In your goodwill do what is good for Zion; Build up the walls of Jerusalem.
51.19 Then you will take delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, The burnt sacrifices and the whole offerings; Then bulls will be offered up on your altar.
To the director. Maskil. Of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul that David had come to the house of Ahimelech.
52.1 Why do you boast about your evil acts, you mighty one? The loyal love of God lasts all day long.
52.2 Your tongue, as sharp as a razor, Schemes harm and works deceitfully.
52.3 You love evil more than what is good, Lying more than speaking what is right.
(Selah)
52.4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!
52.5 That is why God will pull you down once and for all; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.
(Selah)
52.6 The righteous ones will see it and be filled with awe, And they will laugh at him.
52.7 “Here is a man who did not make God his refuge, But he trusted in his great riches And relied on his own evil plots.”
52.8 But I will be like a luxuriant olive tree in God’s house; My trust is in God’s loyal love, forever and ever.
52.9 I will praise you forever because you have taken action; In the presence of your loyal ones, I will hope in your name, for it is good.