THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God:
It is he that hath made us, and we are his;
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Give thanks unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy endureth for ever;
And his faithfulness unto all generations.
--Psalm 100.

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GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE

I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are throughout all generations.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth;
And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure:
Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same,
And thy years shall have no end.
--Psalm 102:24-27.

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OUR FATHER

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities:
Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies:
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;
So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle.
The Lord executeth righteous acts,
And judgments for all that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses,
His doings unto the children of Israel.
The Lord is full of compassion and gracious,
Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide;
Neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins,
Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
So great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, [{119}] So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children,
So the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
And the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting
to everlasting upon them that fear him,
And his righteousness unto children's children;
To such as keep his covenant,
And to those that remember his precepts to do them.
The Lord hath established his throne in the heavens;
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the Lord, ye angels of his:
Ye mighty in strength, that fulfil his word,
Hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts;
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all ye his works,
In all places of his dominion:
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
--Psalm 108.

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GOD THE CREATOR

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, thou art very great;
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;
Who maketh the clouds his chariot;
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
Who maketh winds his messengers;
His ministers a flaming fire:
Who laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be moved for ever.
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture;
The waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled;
At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away;
They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys,
Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them.
Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;
That they turn not again to cover the earth.
He sendeth forth springs into the valleys;
They run among the mountains:
They give drink to every beast of the field; [{121}] The wild asses quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the heaven have their habitation,
They sing among the branches.
He watereth the mountains from his chambers:
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
And herb for the service of man;
That he may bring forth food out of the earth:
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
And oil to make his face to shine,
And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.
The trees of the Lord are satisfied;
The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests:
As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
He appointed the moon for seasons:
The sun knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night;
Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their meat from God.
The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labour until the evening.
O Lord, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all: [{122}] The earth is full of thy riches.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
Wherein are things creeping innumerable,
Both small and great beasts.
There go the ships;
There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to take his pastime therein.
These wait all upon thee,
That thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
That thou givest unto them they gather;
Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good.
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled;
Thou takest away their breath, they die,
And return to their dust.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created;
And thou renewest the face of the ground.
Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
Let the Lord rejoice in his works:
Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth;
He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live:
I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
Let my meditation be sweet unto him:
I will rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise ye the Lord.
--Psalm 104.

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HE HATH NOT DEALT SO WITH ANY NATION

Oh give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name;
Make known among the peoples his doings.
Sing unto him, sing praises unto him;
Talk ye of all his marvellous works.
Glory ye in his holy name:
Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
Seek ye the Lord and his strength;
Seek his face evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done,
His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
O ye children of Abraham his servant,
Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God:
His judgments are in all the earth.
He hath remembered his covenant for ever,
The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
The covenant which he made with Abraham,
And his oath unto Isaac,
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, "Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,
The lot of your inheritance,"
When they were but a few men in number,
Yea, very few, and sojourners in it. [{124}] And they went about from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people.
He suffered no man to do them wrong;
Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
Saying, "Touch not mine anointed ones,
And do my prophets no harm."
And he called for a famine upon the land;
He brake the whole staff of bread.
He sent a man before them;
Joseph was sold for a servant:
His feet they hurt with fetters;
He was laid in chains of iron,
Until the time that his word came to pass,
The word of the Lord tried him.
The king sent and loosed him;
Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
He made him lord of his house,
And ruler of all his substance;
To bind his princes at his pleasure,
And teach his elders wisdom.
Israel also came into Egypt;
And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
And he increased his people greatly,
And made them stronger than their adversaries.
He turned their heart to hate his people,
To deal subtilly with his servants.
He sent Moses his servant,
And Aaron whom he had chosen.
They set among them his signs, [{125}] And wonders in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made it dark;
And they rebelled not against his words.
He turned their waters into blood,
And slew their fish.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
In the chambers of their kings.
He spake, and there came swarms of flies,
And lice in all their borders.
He gave them hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
He smote their vines also and their fig trees;
And brake the trees of their borders.
He spake, and the locust came,
And the cankerworm, and that without number,
And did eat up every herb in their land,
And did eat up the fruit of their ground.
He smote also all the firstborn in their land,
The chief of all their strength.
And he brought them forth with silver and gold:
And there was not one feeble person among his tribes,
Egypt was glad when they departed;
For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
He spread a cloud for a covering;
And fire to give light in the night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and waters gushed out;
They ran in the dry places like a river.
For he remembered his holy word. [{126}] And Abraham his servant.
And he brought forth his people with joy,
And his chosen with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations;
And they took the labour of the peoples in possession:
That they might keep his statutes,
And observe his laws.
Praise ye the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord,
Or shew forth all his praise?
Blessed are they that keep judgment,
And he that doeth righteousness at all times.
Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people;
O visit me with thy salvation:
That I may see the prosperity of thy chosen,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,
That I may glory with thine inheritance.
We have sinned with our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt;
They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies;
But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake,
That he might make his mighty power to be known.
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: [{127}] So he led them through the depths, as through a wilderness.
And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
And the waters covered their adversaries:
There was not one of them left.
Then believed they his words;
They sang his praise.
They soon forgot his works;
They waited not for his counsel:
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert.
And he gave them their request;
But sent leanness into their soul.
They envied Moses also in the camp,
And Aaron the saint of the Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And covered the company of Abiram.
And a fire was kindled in their company;
The flame burned up the wicked.
They made a calf in Horeb,
And worshipped a molten image.
Thus they changed their glory
For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.
They forgot God their saviour,
Which had done great things in Egypt;
Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
And terrible things by the Red Sea.
Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach,
To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. [{128}] Yea, they despised the pleasant land,
They believed not his word;
But murmured in their tents,
And hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
Therefore he lifted up his hand unto them,
That he would overthrow them in the wilderness:
And that he would overthrow them among the nations,
And scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor,
And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Thus they provoked him to anger with their doings;
And the plague broke in upon them.
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment:
And so the plague was stayed.
And that was counted unto him for righteousness,
Unto all generations for evermore.
They angered him also at the waters of Meribah,
So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
Because they were rebellious against his spirit,
And he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
They did not destroy the peoples,
As the Lord commanded them;
But mingled themselves with the nations,
And learned their works:
And they served their idols;
Which became a snare unto them:
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons,
And shed innocent blood, even the blood of
their sons and of their daughters, [{129}] Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with blood.
Thus were they defiled with their works,
And did very evil in their doings.
Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against this people,
And he abhorred his inheritance.
And he gave them into the hand of the nations;
And they that hated them ruled over them.
Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were brought into subjection under their hand.
Many times did he deliver them;
But they were rebellious in their counsel,
And were brought low in their iniquity.
Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
When he heard their cry:
And he remembered for them his covenant,
And repented according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
He made them also to be pitied
Of all those that carried them captive.
Save us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks unto thy holy name,
And to triumph in thy praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
--Psalms 105, 106.

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