Psalm 144
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 144
Prayer for National Deliverance and Security
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,(A)
2 my rock[a] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples[b] under me.(B)
3 O Lord, what are humans that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?(C)
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.(D)
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.(E)
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.(F)
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of foreigners,(G)
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hands are false.(H)
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,(I)
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.(J)
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.(K)
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.(L)
13 May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,[c] no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(M)
Acts 9:10-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”(A) 11 The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,(B) 12 and he has seen in a vision[a] a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”(C) 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;(D) 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”(E) 17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul[b] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”(F) 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul Preaches in Damascus
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,(G)
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Luke 23:32-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.(A) 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus[a] there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”]][b] And they cast lots to divide his clothing.(B) 35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah[c] of God, his chosen one!”(C) 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine(D) 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[d] “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding[e] him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?[f] Save yourself and us!”(E) 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”(F) 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in[g] your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”(G)
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Psalm 104
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 104
God the Creator and Provider
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,(A)
2 wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent;(B)
3 you set the beams of your[a] chambers on the waters;
you make the clouds your[b] chariot;
you ride on the wings of the wind;(C)
4 you make the winds your[c] messengers,
fire and flame your[d] ministers.(D)
5 You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.(E)
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.(F)
7 At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys,
to the place that you appointed for them.(G)
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.(H)
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,(I)
11 giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.(J)
12 By the streams[e] the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.(K)
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.(L)
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
and plants for people to cultivate,
to bring forth food from the earth(M)
15 and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine
and bread to strengthen the human heart.(N)
16 The trees of the field[f] are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.(O)
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.(P)
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.(Q)
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.(R)
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.(S)
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.(T)
25 There is the sea, great and wide;
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.(U)
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;(V)
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.(W)
30 When you send forth your spirit,[g] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.(X)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—(Y)
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.(Z)
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.(AA)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!(AB)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.