Psalm 116

1I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

2Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

3The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came over me;

I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

4Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“Lord, save me!”

5The Lord is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

6The Lord protects the unwary;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

7Return to your rest, my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you.

8For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling,

9that I may walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

10I trusted in the Lord when I said,

“I am greatly afflicted”;

11in my alarm I said,

“Everyone is a liar.”

12What shall I return to the Lord

for all his goodness to me?

13I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord.

14I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

15Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his faithful servants.

16Truly I am your servant, Lord;

I serve you just as my mother did;

you have freed me from my chains.

17I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

and call on the name of the Lord.

18I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people,

19in the courts of the house of the Lord—

in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 117

1Praise the Lord, all you nations;

extol him, all you peoples.

2For great is his love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

1Not to us, Lord, not to us

but to your name be the glory,

because of your love and faithfulness.

2Why do the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

3Our God is in heaven;

he does whatever pleases him.

4But their idols are silver and gold,

made by human hands.

5They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see.

6They have ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell.

7They have hands, but cannot feel,

feet, but cannot walk,

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them.

9All you Israelites, trust in the Lord—

he is their help and shield.

10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—

he is their help and shield.

11You who fear him, trust in the Lord—

he is their help and shield.

12The Lord remembers us and will bless us:

He will bless his people Israel,

he will bless the house of Aaron,

13he will bless those who fear the Lord—

small and great alike.

14May the Lord cause you to flourish,

both you and your children.

15May you be blessed by the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

16The highest heavens belong to the Lord,

but the earth he has given to mankind.

17It is not the dead who praise the Lord,

those who go down to the place of silence;

18it is we who extol the Lord,

both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

1When Israel came out of Egypt,

Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,

2Judah became God’s sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

3The sea looked and fled,

the Jordan turned back;

4the mountains leaped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

5Why was it, sea, that you fled?

Why, Jordan, did you turn back?

6Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,

you hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8who turned the rock into a pool,

the hard rock into springs of water.

1Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you his servants;

praise the name of the Lord.

2Let the name of the Lord be praised,

both now and forevermore.

3From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

the name of the Lord is to be praised.

4The Lord is exalted over all the nations,

his glory above the heavens.

5Who is like the Lord our God,

the One who sits enthroned on high,

6who stoops down to look

on the heavens and the earth?

7He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

8he seats them with princes,

with the princes of his people.

9He settles the childless woman in her home

as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

1Praise the Lord.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,

who find great delight in his commands.

2Their children will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3Wealth and riches are in their houses,

and their righteousness endures forever.

4Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,

for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.

5Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,

who conduct their affairs with justice.

6Surely the righteous will never be shaken;

they will be remembered forever.

7They will have no fear of bad news;

their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

8Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;

in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

9They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,

their righteousness endures forever;

their hornwill be lifted high in honor.

10The wicked will see and be vexed,

they will gnash their teeth and waste away;

the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

1Praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord with all my heart

in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2Great are the works of the Lord;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

3Glorious and majestic are his deeds,

and his righteousness endures forever.

4He has caused his wonders to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and compassionate.

5He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

6He has shown his people the power of his works,

giving them the lands of other nations.

7The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy.

8They are established for ever and ever,

enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.

9He provided redemption for his people;

he ordained his covenant forever—

holy and awesome is his name.

10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise.

1 Chronicles 29

Gifts for Building the Temple

1Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4three thousand talentsof gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talentsof refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

6Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talentsand ten thousand daricsof gold, ten thousand talentsof silver, eighteen thousand talentsof bronze and a hundred thousand talentsof iron. 8Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

10David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,

the God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

11Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.

12Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

13Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

14“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

20Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Acknowledged as King

21The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

25The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

The Death of David

26David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

29As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1Unless the Lord builds the house,

the builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the guards stand watch in vain.

2In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

for he grants sleep tothose he loves.

3Children are a heritage from the Lord,

offspring a reward from him.

4Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are children born in one’s youth.

5Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their opponents in court.