1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to thy name, O Most High; ² to declare thy steadfast love in the morning,
and thy faithfulness by night, ³ to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
⁴ For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by thy work;
at the works of thy hands I sing for joy.
⁵ How great are thy works, O Lord!
Thy thoughts are very deep!
⁶ The dull man cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
⁷ that, though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
⁸ but thou, O Lord, art on high for ever.
⁹ For, lo, thy enemies, O Lord,
for, lo, thy enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
¹⁰ But thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
thou hast poured over me fresh oil.
¹¹ My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies,
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
¹² The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord,
they flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They still bring forth fruit in old age,
they are ever full of sap and green,
¹⁵ to show that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

18 Moses said, "I pray thee, show me thy glory." ¹⁹ And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰ But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live." ²¹ And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand upon the rock; ²² and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; ²³ then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life- ² the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us- ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing this that our joy may be complete.

20 Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" ²¹ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" ²² Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" ²³ The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"

1 The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
² Clouds and thick darkness are round about him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
³ Fire goes before him,
and burns up his adversaries round about.
⁴ His lightnings lighten the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
⁷ All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
⁸ Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of thy judgments, O God.
⁹ For thou, O Lord, art most high over all the earth;
thou art exalted far above all gods.
¹⁰ The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
 
PSALM 98
 
¹ O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory. ² The Lord has made known his victory,
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. ³ He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
⁴ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
⁵ Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
⁷ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
⁸ Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
⁹ before the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

22 The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old. ²³ Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth. ²⁴ When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water. ²⁵ Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth; ²⁶ before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world. ²⁷ When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, ²⁸ when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep, ²⁹ when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, ³⁰ then I was beside him, like a master workman;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me."

1 I will extol thee, my God and King,
and bless thy name for ever and ever. ² Every day I will bless thee,
and praise thy name for ever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
⁴ One generation shall laud thy works to another,
and shall declare thy mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of thy majesty,
and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts,
and I will declare thy greatness.
⁷ They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
¹⁰ All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O Lord,
and all thy saints shall bless thee!
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
and tell of thy power,
¹² to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom.
¹³ Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and thy dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to thee,
and thou givest them their food in due season.
¹⁶ Thou openest thy hand,
thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfils the desire of all who fear him,
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord preserves all who love him;
but all the wicked he will destroy.
²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

1 "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! ² Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. ³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring. ⁴ They shall spring up like grass amid waters, like willows by flowing streams. ⁵ This one will say, 'I am the Lord's,' another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The Lord's,' and surname himself by the name of Israel." ⁶ Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. ⁷ Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. ⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any."

1 Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and every one who loves the parent loves the child. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?