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Psalm 104

God the Creator and Provider

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul.
   O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honour and majesty,
²   wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
³   you set the beams of your^* chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your^* chariot,
   you ride on the wings of the wind,
⁴ you make the winds your^* messengers,
   fire and flame your^* ministers.

⁵ You set the earth on its foundations,
   so that it shall never be shaken.
⁶ You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
   the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At your rebuke they flee;
   at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
⁸ They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
   to the place that you appointed for them.
⁹ You set a boundary that they may not pass,
   so that they might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills,
¹¹ giving drink to every wild animal;
   the wild asses quench their thirst.
¹² By the streams^* the birds of the air have their habitation;
   they sing among the branches.
¹³ From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
   and plants for people to use,^*
to bring forth food from the earth,
¹⁵   and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
   and bread to strengthen the human heart.
¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
   the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ In them the birds build their nests;
   the stork has its home in the fir trees.
¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats;
   the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
¹⁹ You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting.
²⁰ You make darkness, and it is night,
   when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
²¹ The young lions roar for their prey,
   seeking their food from God.
²² When the sun rises, they withdraw
   and lie down in their dens.
²³ People go out to their work
   and to their labour until the evening.

²⁴ O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.
²⁶ There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

²⁷ These all look to you
   to give them their food in due season;
²⁸ when you give to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust.
³⁰ When you send forth your spirit,^* they are created;
   and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
   may the Lord rejoice in his works—
³² who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke.
³³ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ ¹³But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
¹⁷ “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
²¹ Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Rivers of Living Water

37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, ³⁸and let the one who believes in me drink. As^* the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart^* shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ ³⁹Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit,^* because Jesus was not yet glorified.