Book of Common Prayer
God in the Thunderstorm
A psalm of David.
29 ·Praise [T Ascribe to] the Lord, you ·angels [L sons of God; C God’s council];
·Praise the Lord’s [T Ascribe to the Lord] glory and power.
2 ·Praise the Lord for [T Ascribe to the Lord] the glory of his name;
worship the Lord ·because he is holy [L in the splendor of his holiness].
3 The Lord’s voice [C thunder] is heard over the ·sea [L waters; C a symbol of chaos].
The glorious God thunders;
the Lord thunders over the ·ocean [L many/mighty waters].
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful;
the Lord’s voice is ·majestic [splendid; awesome].
5 The Lord’s voice breaks the ·trees [L cedars];
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon [C the most famous cedar forests].
6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf
and ·Mount Hermon [L Sirion] jump like a baby bull.
7 The Lord’s voice ·makes the lightning flash [strikes with flashes of lightning].
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the ·desert [wilderness];
the Lord shakes the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Kadesh.
9 The Lord’s voice ·shakes the oaks [or makes the deer give birth]
and strips the ·leaves off the trees [L forests bare].
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory!”
10 The Lord ·controls [L is enthroned over] the flood [C controls chaos].
The Lord ·will be [L is enthroned as] King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
The Lord of Power and Justice
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3],
because he has done ·miracles [wonderful acts].
By his right hand and holy arm
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has made known his ·power to save [salvation; victory];
he has ·shown [revealed to] ·the other [L before the eyes of the] nations his ·victory for his people [righteousness].
3 He has remembered his ·love [loyalty]
and his ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the ·people [L house] of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
God’s ·power to save [salvation; victory].
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
·burst into songs [L break forth and sing for joy] and make ·music [a psalm].
5 Make music to the Lord with harps,
with harps and the sound of singing.
6 Blow the trumpets and the ·sheep’s [ram’s] horns;
shout for joy to the Lord the King [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
7 Let the sea and ·everything in it [its fullness] ·shout [thunder];
let the world and everyone in it sing.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world ·fairly [with righteousness];
he will judge the peoples with fairness [96:13].
18 “I know ·they have evil thoughts and do evil things [L their deeds and thoughts], so I am ·coming to punish them [L coming]. I will gather all nations and all ·people [L languages; tongues], and they will come together and see my glory.
19 “I will put a ·mark [sign] ·on some of the people [L among them], and I will send ·some of these saved people [or those who survive] to the nations: to Tarshish [2:16], ·Libya [L Pul], Lud (·the land of archers [L who draw the bow]), Tubal, ·Greece [L Javan], and all the faraway ·lands [or islands; or coastlands]. These people have never heard about ·what I have done [my fame] nor seen my glory. So ·the saved people [L they] will tell the nations about my glory. 20 And they will bring all your ·fellow Israelites [L brothers] from all nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. ·Your fellow Israelites [L They] will come on horses, donkeys, and camels and in chariots and wagons. They will be like the grain offerings that the people bring in ·clean [pure; undefiled] ·containers [vessels] to the Temple,” says the Lord. 21 “And I will ·choose [take] even some of these people to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “I will make new heavens and the new earth, which will ·last forever [endure before me],” says the Lord. “In the same way, your name and your ·children [descendants; offspring; seed] will ·always be with me [remain; endure]. 23 All ·people [flesh] will come to worship me every Sabbath and every New Moon,” says the Lord.
7 Accept each another, just as Christ accepted you. ·This will bring glory to God [or In this way Christ brought glory to God; L …to the glory of God]. 8 [L For] I tell you that Christ became a servant of the ·Jews [L circumcised] to ·show [confirm] that God’s promises to the ·Jewish ancestors [patriarchs; fathers] are true. 9 And he also did this so that the Gentiles could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them. [L Just as] It is written in the Scriptures:
“So I will ·praise [confess] you among the ·Gentiles [nations].
I will sing ·praises [psalms] to your name [Ps. 18:49].”
10 ·The Scripture also [L And again it] says,
“·Be happy [Rejoice; Celebrate], you ·Gentiles [nations], together with his people [Deut. 32:43].”
11 ·Again the Scripture says [L And again],
“All you ·Gentiles [nations], praise the Lord.
All you people, sing praises to him [Ps. 117:1].”
12 And [L again] Isaiah says,
“·A new king will come from the family of Jesse [The root of Jesse will come/sprout; C Jesse was the father of King David].
He will ·come [rise up] to rule over the ·Gentiles [nations],
and they will ·have hope because of [put their hope in] him [Is. 11:10].”
13 I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with ·much [L all] joy and peace ·while you trust [because you trust; through your faith] in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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