August 9, 2020
Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b]
6
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9
The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.[c]
14
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Matthew 14:1-21
John the Baptist Beheaded
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.