O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are (B)very great!
(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
    covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    (D)stretching out the heavens (E)like a tent.
He (F)lays the beams of his (G)chambers on the waters;
he makes (H)the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on (I)the wings of the wind;
he (J)makes his messengers winds,
    his (K)ministers (L)a flaming fire.

He (M)set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
You (N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
At (O)your rebuke they fled;
    at (P)the sound of your thunder they (Q)took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you (R)appointed for them.
You set (S)a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they (T)might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they (U)give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 (V)From your lofty abode you (W)water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause (X)the grass to grow for the livestock
    and (Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth (Z)food from the earth
15     and (AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
(AB)oil to make his face shine
    and bread to (AC)strengthen man's heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    (AD)the cedars of Lebanon (AE)that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for (AF)the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for (AG)the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the (AH)seasons;[a]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 (AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their (AK)dens.
23 (AL)Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In (AM)wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
    (AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
    and (AO)Leviathan, which you formed to (AP)play in it.[b]

27 These (AQ)all look to you,
    to (AR)give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you (AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you (AT)hide your face, they are (AU)dismayed;
    when you (AV)take away their breath, they die
    and (AW)return to their dust.
30 When you (AX)send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created,
    and you (AY)renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord (AZ)endure forever;
    may the Lord (BA)rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it (BB)trembles,
    who (BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord (BD)as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my (BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let (BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(BH)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
  2. Psalm 104:26 Or you formed to play with
  3. Psalm 104:30 Or breath

Tell of All His Wondrous Works

105 (A)Oh give thanks to the Lord; (B)call upon his name;
    (C)make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    (D)tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his (E)strength;
    (F)seek his presence continually!
Remember the (G)wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and (H)the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of (I)Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his (J)chosen ones!

He is the Lord our God;
    his (K)judgments are in all the earth.
He (L)remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for (M)a thousand generations,
(N)the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his (O)sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to (P)Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, (Q)“To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as (R)your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were (S)few in number,
    of little account, and (T)sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 he (U)allowed no one to oppress them;
    he (V)rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, (W)“Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he (X)summoned a famine on the land
    and (Y)broke all supply[a] of bread,
17 he had (Z)sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was (AA)sold as a slave.
18 His (AB)feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until (AC)what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the Lord (AD)tested him.
20 (AE)The king sent and (AF)released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he (AG)made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind[b] his princes at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then (AH)Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob (AI)sojourned in (AJ)the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord (AK)made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He (AL)turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to (AM)deal craftily with his servants.

26 He (AN)sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, (AO)whom he had chosen.
27 (AP)They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in (AQ)the land of Ham.
28 He (AR)sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they (AS)did not rebel[c] against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and (AT)caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in (AU)the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came (AV)swarms of flies,
    (AW)and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
    and fiery (AX)lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    and (AY)shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the (AZ)locusts came,
    young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He (BA)struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    (BB)the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with (BC)silver and gold,
    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 (BD)Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for (BE)dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He (BF)spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
40 (BG)They asked, and he (BH)brought quail,
    and gave them (BI)bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and (BJ)water gushed out;
    it flowed through (BK)the desert like a river.
42 For he (BL)remembered his holy promise,
    and (BM)Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
    his (BN)chosen ones with (BO)singing.
44 And he (BP)gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might (BQ)keep his statutes
    and (BR)observe his laws.
(BS)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 105:16 Hebrew staff
  2. Psalm 105:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome instruct
  3. Psalm 105:28 Septuagint, Syriac omit not

Encouragement to Give Generously

We want you to know, brothers,[a] about the grace of God that has been (A)given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and (B)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave (C)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly (D)for the favor[b] of taking part in (E)the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they (F)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, (G)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you (H)this act of grace. But as (I)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you[c](J)see that you excel in this act of grace also.

(K)I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that (L)though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter (M)I give my judgment: (N)this benefits you, who (O)a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable (P)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply (Q)their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, (R)“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Commendation of Titus

16 But (S)thanks be to God, (T)who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17 For (U)he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going[d] to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending[e] (V)the brother who is famous among (W)all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been (X)appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of (Y)grace that is being ministered by us, (Z)for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for (AA)we aim at what is honorable (AB)not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is (AC)my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers[f] of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of (AD)our boasting about you to these men.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:1 Or brothers and sisters
  2. 2 Corinthians 8:4 The Greek word charis can mean favor or grace or thanks, depending on the context
  3. 2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts in your love for us
  4. 2 Corinthians 8:17 Or he went
  5. 2 Corinthians 8:18 Or we sent; also verse 22
  6. 2 Corinthians 8:23 Greek apostles

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