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Psalm 146

1  Alleluia.
      Praise the Lord, O my soul:
      while I live will I praise the Lord; ♦︎
   as long as I have any being,
      I will sing praises to my God.
2  Put not your trust in princes,
      nor in any human power, ♦︎
   for there is no help in them.
3  When their breath goes forth, they return to the earth; ♦︎
   on that day all their thoughts perish.
4  Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, ♦︎
   whose hope is in the Lord their God;
5  Who made heaven and earth,
      the sea and all that is in them; ♦︎
   who keeps his promise for ever;
6  Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong ♦︎
   and bread to those who hunger.
7  The Lord looses those that are bound; ♦︎
   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
8  The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; ♦︎
   the Lord loves the righteous;
9  The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;
      he upholds the orphan and widow; ♦︎
   but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
10  The Lord shall reign for ever, ♦︎
   your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
      Alleluia.

Psalm 147

1  Alleluia.
      How good it is to make music for our God, ♦︎
   how joyful to honour him with praise.
2  The Lord builds up Jerusalem ♦︎
   and gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3  He heals the brokenhearted ♦︎
   and binds up all their wounds.
4  He counts the number of the stars ♦︎
   and calls them all by their names.
5  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; ♦︎
   his wisdom is beyond all telling.
6  The Lord lifts up the poor, ♦︎
   but casts down the wicked to the ground.
7  Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; ♦︎
   make music to our God upon the lyre;
8  Who covers the heavens with clouds ♦︎
   and prepares rain for the earth;
9  Who makes grass to grow upon the mountains ♦︎
   and green plants to serve our needs.
10  He gives the beasts their food ♦︎
   and the young ravens when they cry.
11  He takes no pleasure in the power of a horse, ♦︎
   no delight in human strength;
12  But the Lord delights in those who fear him, ♦︎
   who put their trust in his steadfast love.
13  Sing praise to the Lord, O Jerusalem; ♦︎
   praise your God, O Zion;
14  For he has strengthened the bars of your gates ♦︎
   and has blest your children within you.
15  He has established peace in your borders ♦︎
   and satisfies you with the finest wheat.
16  He sends forth his command to the earth ♦︎
   and his word runs very swiftly.
17  He gives snow like wool ♦︎
   and scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.
18  He casts down his hailstones like morsels of bread; ♦︎
   who can endure his frost?
19  He sends forth his word and melts them; ♦︎
   he blows with his wind and the waters flow.
20  He declares his word to Jacob, ♦︎
   his statutes and judgements to Israel.
21  He has not dealt so with any other nation; ♦︎
   they do not know his laws.
      Alleluia.

The Message to Pergamum

12 ‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword:

13 ‘I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me^* even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practise fornication. ¹⁵So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. ¹⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

The Message to Thyatira

18 ‘And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze:

19 ‘I know your works—your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. ²⁰But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants^* to practise fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. ²²Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; ²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. ²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call “the deep things of Satan”, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden; ²⁵only hold fast to what you have until I come. ²⁶To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,
I will give authority over the nations;
²⁷ to rule^* them with an iron rod,
   as when clay pots are shattered—
²⁸even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star. ²⁹Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.