Psalm 66

For the choir director: A song. A psalm.

1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2     Sing about the glory of his name!
    Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
    they will sing your praises,
    shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

5 Come and see what our God has done,
    what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,
    and his people went across on foot.
    There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
    He watches every movement of the nations;
    let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

8 Let the whole world bless our God
    and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
    and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
    you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
    and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.
    We went through fire and flood,
    but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
    to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
    when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
    the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
    and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
    praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
    He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
    or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

Psalm 67

For the choir director: A song. A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1 May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

2 May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
3 May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
4 Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

5 May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
6 Then the earth will yield its harvests,
    and God, our God, will richly bless us.
7 Yes, God will bless us,
    and people all over the world will fear him.

Psalm 68

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

1 Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
    Let those who hate God run for their lives.
2 Blow them away like smoke.
    Melt them like wax in a fire.
    Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
3 But let the godly rejoice.
    Let them be glad in God’s presence.
    Let them be filled with joy.
4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
    Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
    rejoice in his presence!

5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
    this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
    he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

7 O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
    when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
    before you, the God of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God,
    to refresh the weary land.
10 There your people finally settled,
    and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
    you provided for your needy people.

11 The Lord gives the word,
    and a great army brings the good news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
    while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
    doves with wings of silver
    and feathers of gold.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
    like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
    with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
    at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
    where the Lord himself will live forever?

17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
    the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
    you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
    even from those who rebelled against you.
    Now the Lord God will live among us there.

19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
    For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude
20 Our God is a God who saves!
    The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.

21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
    crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
    I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
    and even your dogs will get their share!”

24 Your procession has come into view, O God—
    the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians behind;
    between them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
    praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
    Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
    and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

28 Summon your might, O God.
    Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
    to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations—
    these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
    this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
    Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
    let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
    Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
    his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God’s power.
    His majesty shines down on Israel;
    his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
    The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

2 Corinthians 4

Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.