³ When my enemies turned back,
    they stumbled and perished before you.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you have rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever,
    he has established his throne for judgment.
⁸ He judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with equity.

⁹ The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
    Declare his deeds among the peoples.
¹² For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord.
    See what I suffer from those who hate me;
    you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ so that I may recount all your praises,
    and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
    rejoice in your deliverance.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷ The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

¹⁹ Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you.
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord;
    let the nations know that they are only human.Selah

Prayer

Give is peace, O God, that we may rejoice in your goodness to us and to all your children, and be thankful for your love revealed in Jesus Christ. We thank you for surprises that have blessed us, people who share their gifts, who offer hospitality, who are true to you and your goodness. We pray for those who suffer from other’s selfishness, who feel defeated and hopeless, who are sick and discouraged. May we be confident in your care for us and all your children. May we know your peace in all times and in every way. Amen.

³ Our God is in the heavens;
    he does whatever he pleases.
⁴ Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
⁶ They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
⁷ They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    they make no sound in their throats.
⁸ Those who make them are like them;
    so are all who trust in them.

⁹ O Israel, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.
¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.
¹¹ You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.

¹² The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron;
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord,
    both small and great.

¹⁴ May the Lord give you increase,
both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
¹⁶ The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
    but the earth he has given to human beings.

¹⁷ The dead do not praise the Lord,
    nor do any that go down into silence.
¹⁸ But we will bless the Lord
    from this time on and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

Geeat God, You are the one who brings people together and makes us one in you. Bind up our wounds, heal our hearts, cure our ills. Bring hope and healing to the world as it struggles to contain a pandemic. Give wisdom to leaders who make decisions that affect us all. May we be the disciples you have called us to be even when we adapt to a changing world. In Christ we pray, Amen.

³ Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens,
    and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for he commanded and they were created.
⁶ He established them forever and ever;
    he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.^[a]

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹ Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹² Young men and women alike,
    old and young together!

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 147:12-20

¹² Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
    he blesses your children within you.
¹⁴ He grants peace^[a] within your borders;
    he fills you with the finest of wheat.
¹⁵ He sends out his command to the earth;
    his word runs swiftly.
¹⁶ He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.

¹⁷ He hurls down hail like crumbs—
    who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
¹⁹ He declares his word to Jacob,
    his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
²⁰ He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
    they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
    They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
    they kept his decrees,
    and the statutes that he gave them.

⁸ O Lord our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them,
    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
⁹ Extol the Lord our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain;
    for the Lord our God is holy.

⁵ Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
⁷     who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let the rebellious not exalt themselves.Selah

⁸ Bless our God, O peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept us among the living,
    and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net;
    you laid burdens on our backs;
¹² you let people ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.^[a]

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will pay you my vows,
¹⁴ those that my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.Selah

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried aloud to him,
    and he was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly God has listened;
    he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
    and all the peoples behold his glory.
⁷ All worshipers of images are put to shame,
    those who make their boast in worthless idols;
    all gods bow down before him.
⁸ Zion hears and is glad,
    and the towns^[a] of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O God.
⁹ For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ The Lord loves those who hate^[b] evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light dawns^[c] 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!