Old/New Testament
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And (C)forget none of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your iniquities,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord (J)performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (K)oppressed.
7 He (L)made known His ways to Moses,
His (M)acts to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He (P)will not always strive with us,
Nor will He (Q)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just (U)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
14 For (V)He Himself knows [e]our frame;
He (W)is mindful that we are but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
As a (Z)flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the (AA)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its (AB)place acknowledges it no longer.
17 But the (AC)lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [f]fear Him,
And His [g]righteousness (AD)to children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.
19 The Lord has established His (AF)throne in the heavens,
And His [h](AG)sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you (AH)His angels,
(AI)Mighty in strength, who (AJ)perform His word,
(AK)Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you (AL)His hosts,
You (AM)who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, (AN)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (AO)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (AP)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (AQ)light as with a cloak,
(AR)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [j]He (AS)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[k]He makes the (AT)clouds His chariot;
[l]He walks upon the (AU)wings of the wind;
4 [m]He makes [n](AV)the winds His messengers,
[o]Flaming (AW)fire His ministers.
5 He (AX)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [p]totter forever and ever.
6 You (AY)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (AZ)rebuke they fled,
At the (BA)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (BB)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (BC)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [q]He sends forth (BD)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (BE)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (BF)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [r]Beside them the birds of the heavens (BG)dwell;
They [s]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [t]He (BH)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(BI)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [u]He causes the (BJ)grass to grow for the [v]cattle,
And (BK)vegetation for the [w]labor of man,
So that [x]he may bring forth [y]food (BL)from the earth,
15 And (BM)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(BN)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [z]food which (BO)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [aa]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (BP)birds build their nests,
And the (BQ)stork, whose home is the [ab]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (BR)wild goats;
The (BS)cliffs are a refuge for the [ac](BT)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (BU)for the seasons;
The (BV)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (BW)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (BX)beasts of the forest [ad]prowl about.
21 The (BY)young lions roar after their prey
[ae]And (BZ)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (CA)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (CB)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, how (CC)many are Your works!
[af]In (CD)wisdom You have made them all;
The (CE)earth is full of Your [ag]possessions.
25 [ah]There is the (CF)sea, great and [ai]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the (CG)ships move along,
And [aj](CH)Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all (CI)wait for You
To (CJ)give them their food in [ak]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (CK)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (CL)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (CM)take away their [al]spirit, they expire
And (CN)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [am](CO)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (CP)glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord (CQ)be glad in His works;
32 [an]He (CR)looks at the earth, and it (CS)trembles;
He (CT)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [ao]I will sing to the Lord [ap](CU)as long as I live;
[aq]I will (CV)sing praise to my God [ar]while I have my being.
34 Let my (CW)meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (CX)be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be (CY)consumed from the earth
And let the (CZ)wicked be no more.
(DA)Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[as](DB)Praise [at]the Lord!
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brethren, I (A)did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [b]message and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on (H)the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are (I)mature; a wisdom, however, not of (J)this age nor of the rulers of (K)this age, who are (L)passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom (P)which none of the rulers of (Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified (R)the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written,
“(S)Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 [d](T)For to us God revealed them (U)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the (V)depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the (W)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have received, not the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [e]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But [f]a (AA)natural man (AB)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (AC)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [g]appraised. 15 But he who is (AD)spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For (AE)who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But (AF)we have the mind of Christ.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.