Day 363 of 365

¹ O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

² To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

³ Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

⁴ Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

⁶ When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

⁷ Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

⁸ My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

⁹ But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

¹ A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

² The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

³ A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

⁷ The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.

⁹ He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰ Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

¹¹ He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

¹³ The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

¹⁴ The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

¹⁷ Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

¹⁸ For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

¹⁹ That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.

²⁰ Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

²¹ That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

²² Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

²³ For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

²⁵ Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

²⁶ Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.

²⁷ If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

²⁹ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.