Psalm 103

Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness

Of David.

Water Flowing from the Temple

47 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there water was flowing from below the entryway of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east), and the water was flowing down from below the south side of the temple, south of the altar.^{(A) 2} Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east,^[a] and the water was trickling out on the south side.^(B)

³ Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.^{(C) 4} Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was up to the waist. ⁵ Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. ⁶ He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back along the bank of the river.^{(D) 7} As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.^{(E) 8} He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.^{(F) 9} Wherever the river goes,^[b] every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ People will stand fishing beside the sea^[c] from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.^{(G) 11} But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹² On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”^(H)

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, ² just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,^{(A) 3} I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start,^[a] to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus,^{(B) 4} so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach^{(A) 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.^{(B) 3} After his suffering^[a] he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.^{(C) 4} While staying^[b] with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me;^{(D) 5} for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with^[c] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”^(E)

The Ascension of Jesus

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”^{(F) 7} He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.^{(G) 8} But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”^(H)

Psalm 67

The Nations Called to Praise God

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

Psalm 96

Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment