1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing…
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the…
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
praise Him according to His exceeding greatness!
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
praise Him with lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dance;
praise Him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise Him with…
1 Praise the Lord! [Alleluia!]
Sing to the Lord a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the faithful!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker,
let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise His name with dancing,
making melody to Him with timbrel and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He…
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels,
praise Him, all His host!
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…
Praise the Lord!
1 For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the…
1 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed…
1 I will extol Thee, my God and King,
and bless Thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless Thee,
and praise Thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall laud Thy works to another,
and shall declare Thy…
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues the peoples under him.
3 O Lord, what is man that Thou dost regard him,
or the son of man that…
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my supplications!
In Thy faithfulness answer me, in Thy righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with Thy servant;
for no man living is righteous before thee.
3 For the enemy has pursued me;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long…
1 I cry with my voice to the Lord,
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord,
2 I pour out my complaint before him,
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit is faint,
thou knowest my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to…
1 Lord, I call upon Thee, hear me. Hear me, O Lord.
Lord, I call upon Thee, hear me.
Receive the voice of my prayer, when I call upon Thee.
Hear me, O Lord.
2 Let my prayer arise, in Thy sight as incense,
and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.
…
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart,
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the poison of vipers.
4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
…
This diary entry is longer than usual, but it’s Father Alexander Schmemann’s moving reflection on Psalm 139 in the context of asking the question, what does it mean to believe in God?
I do not so much arrive consciously, deductively, or rationally at faith in God, but rather I find faith within…
1 I give Thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing Thy praise;
2 I bow down toward Thy holy temple
and give thanks to Thy name for Thy steadfast love and Thy faithfulness;
for Thou hast exalted above everything
Thy name and thy word.
3 On the day I called, Thou didst answer me,
my strength of soul…
1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget…
Alleluia!
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
for His mercy endures for ever.
2 O give thanks to the God of gods,
for His mercy endures for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His mercy endures for ever;
4 to Him who alone does great wonders,
for His mercy endures for ever;
5 to Him who by…
Praise the Lord! [LXX=Alleluia!]
1 Praise the name of the Lord,
O servants of the Lord,
2 you that stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to His name, for He is gracious!
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His own possession.
5…
1 Come, bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the Lord!
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!
This short psalm ends the…
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the…