APRIL 30
God's power and glory as seen in the lightning. Psa. 29
A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the lord the glory due his name;
worship the lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the lord is powerful;
the voice of the lord is majestic. The voice of the lord breaks the cedars;
the lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning. The voice of the lord shakes the desert;
the lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the lord twists the oaks'
and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
The lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the lord is enthroned as King forever. The lord gives strength to his people;
the lord blesses his people with peace.
Sing praises to God for his power, purpose, and love. Psa. 33
Sing joyfully to the lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does. The lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jarsS;
he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the lord;
let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm. The lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the lord looks down
and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the lord;
he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O lord,
even
as we put our hope in you.
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
Praise awaits'' you, O God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave' our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders;
where morning dawns and evening fades
you call forth songs of joy.
You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it You drench its furrows
and level its ridges; you soften it with showers
and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Praise for God's deliverance from the oppression of sin. Psa. 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name." Selah
Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him. He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah
Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you— vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats.
Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Praise and prayer for God's blessings. Psa. 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalrn. A song.
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Praise for a God of power who cares about individual problems. Psa. 68
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him. As smoke is blown away by the wind,
may you blow them away; as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God. But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds^—
his name is the lord— and rejoice before him.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families,'
he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
When you went out before your people, O God,
when you marched through the wasteland, Selah the earth shook,
the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel. You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.
The Lord announced the word,
and great was the company of those who proclaimed it: "Kings and armies flee in haste;
in the camps men divide the plunder. Even while you sleep among the campfires,"1
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold." When the Almighty" scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.
The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains;
rugged are the mountains of Bashan. Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the lord himself will dwell forever? The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary. When you ascended on high,
you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men, even from0 the rebellious—
that you, O lord God, might dwell there.
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens. Selah Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign lord comes escape from death.
Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
The Lord says, "I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea, that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share."
Your procession has come into view, O God,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the maidens playing tambourines.
Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the lord in the assembly of Israel.
There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them, there the great throng of Judah's princes, and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
Summon your power, O God;
show us your strength, O God, as you have done before. Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts. Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations. Humbled, may it bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war. Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush will submit herself to God. , Selah
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord to him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice. Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be
to God!