Meet Rasheal Winters

O LORD My God, You Are Very Great

1  Bless the LORD, O my soul!
    O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2      covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3  He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4  he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

5  He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6  You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7  At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8  The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    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  they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    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 livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15      and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man's 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 her home in the fir trees.
18  The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19  He made the moon to mark the seasons; ^{1 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)}
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20  You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21  The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22  When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
23  Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

24  O LORD, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25  Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
26  There go the ships,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. ^{2 104:26 Or you formed to play with}

27  These all look to you,
    to give them their food in due season.
28  When you give it 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, ^{3 104:30 Or breath} they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31  May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
    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!

Tell of All His Wondrous Works

1  Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2  Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3  Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4  Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5  Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6  O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7  He is the LORD our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
8  He remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9  the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
10  which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11  saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.”

12  When they were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
13  wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14  he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
15  saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”

16  When he summoned a famine on the land
    and broke all supply ^{4 105:16 Hebrew staff} of bread,
17  he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18  His feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19  until what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the LORD tested him.
20  The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21  he made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22  to bind ^{5 105:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome instruct} his princes at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

23  Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24  And the LORD made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes.
25  He turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to deal craftily with his servants.

26  He sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27  They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
28  He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they did not rebel ^{6 105:28 Septuagint, Syriac omit not} against his words.
29  He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.
30  Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
31  He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32  He gave them hail for rain,
    and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33  He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34  He spoke, and the locusts came,
    young locusts without number,
35  which devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36  He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their strength.

37  Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38  Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39  He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
40  They asked, and he brought quail,
    and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41  He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
42  For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.

43  So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
44  And he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45  that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good

1  Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
    or declare all his praise?
3  Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!

4  Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them, ^{7 106:4 Or Remember me, O LORD, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation}
5  that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.

6  Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8  Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
9  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10  So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11  And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12  Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.

13  But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14  But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15  he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.

16  When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17  the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18  Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.

19  They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20  They exchanged the glory of God ^{8 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory}
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21  They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22  wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23  Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24  Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25  They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
26  Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.

28  Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29  they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31  And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.

32  They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33  for they made his spirit bitter, ^{9 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit}
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34  They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the LORD commanded them,
35  but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36  They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37  They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38  they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39  Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.

40  Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41  he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42  Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43  Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45  For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46  He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.

47  Save us, O LORD our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

48  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the LORD!