The Greatness of the LORD and the Vanity of Idols

135¹ Praise the Lord ! Praise the name of the Lord ! Praise him, you who serve the Lord, ² you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. ³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music. ⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.

⁵ I know the greatness of the Lord - that our Lord is greater than any other god. ⁶ The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. ⁷ He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. ⁸ He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals. ⁹ He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people. ¹⁰ He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings- ¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. ¹² He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel. ¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation. ¹⁴ For the Lord will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. ¹⁷ They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. ¹⁸ And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. ¹⁹ O Israel, praise the Lord ! O priests-descendants of Aaron-praise the Lord ! ²⁰ O Levites, praise the Lord ! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord ! ²¹ The Lord be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord !

Praise for the LORD's Everlasting Mercy

136¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ² Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever. ⁴ Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever. ⁵ Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever. ⁶ Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. His faithful love endures forever. ⁷ Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights- His faithful love endures forever. ⁸ the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. ⁹ and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁰ Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt. His faithful love endures forever. ¹¹ He brought Israel out of Egypt. His faithful love endures forever. ¹² He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm. His faithful love endures forever. ¹³ Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea. His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁴ He led Israel safely through, His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁵ but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁶ Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness. His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁷ Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings. His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁸ He killed powerful kings- His faithful love endures forever. ¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites, His faithful love endures forever. ²⁰ and Og king of Bashan. His faithful love endures forever. ²¹ God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance- His faithful love endures forever. ²² a special possession to his servant Israel. His faithful love endures forever.

²³ He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. ²⁴ He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love endures forever. ²⁵ He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

Spiritual Gifts

12¹ Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don't want you to misunderstand this. ² You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. ³ So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. ⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. ⁸ To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice ; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. ⁹ The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. ¹⁰ He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. ¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

¹² The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. ¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? ¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you." ²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

²⁷ All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it. ²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. ²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.