Old/New Testament
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of God’s Providence
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;[b]
my entire being, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases.[c]
4 He redeems[d] your life from the pit
and crowns you with kindness and mercy.
5 He satisfies your years with good things
and renews your youth like an eagle’s.[e]
6 The Lord performs acts of righteousness
and administers justice for all who are oppressed.
7 [f]He made known his ways[g] to Moses,
his wondrous deeds to the people of Israel.
8 [h]The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
9 He will not always rebuke,
nor will he remain angry forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our offenses.
11 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.[i]
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.[j]
13 [k]As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed;
he remembers that we are only dust.[l]
15 The days of mortal man are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field.
16 The wind sweeps over him, and he is gone,
and his place never sees him again.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the kindness[m] of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant
and diligently observe his commandments.[n]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.[o]
20 [p]Bless the Lord, O you his angels,[q]
you mighty in strength who do his bidding,
who obey his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, O you his hosts,
his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[r]
Psalm 104[s]
Praise of God the Creator
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord, my God, you are indeed very great.
You are clothed in majesty and splendor,
2 wrapped in light[t] as in a robe.
You have stretched out the heavens like a tent;
3 you have established your palace[u] upon the waters.
You make the clouds serve as your chariot;
you ride forth on the wings of the wind.
4 You have appointed the winds as your messengers
and flames of fire[v] as your ministers.
5 You established the earth on its foundations
so that it will remain unshaken forever.[w]
6 You covered it with the deep like a cloak;
the waters rose above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke[x] the waters took to flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.
8 They rose up to the mountains
and flowed down to the valleys,[y]
to the place that you had designated for them.
9 You established a boundary that they were not to cross
so that they would never again cover the earth.
10 [z]You made springs gush forth in the valleys
and flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water to every beast of the field,
and from them the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 On the banks the birds of the air build nests
and sing among the branches.
13 [aa]From your dwelling you water the mountains,
enriching the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You provide grass for the cattle,
and the plants for man to cultivate.
You bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart[ab] of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen his body.
16 The trees of the Lord have fruit in abundance,
the cedars of Lebanon[ac] that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
in the fir trees the stork makes its home.
18 The high mountains are inhabited by the wild goats;
in the rocky crags the badgers[ad] find refuge.
19 You created the moon that marks the seasons
and the sun that knows its time for setting.[ae]
20 You bring on darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forests go on the prowl.
21 The young lions[af] roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and return to their lairs to rest.
23 People go forth to their work
and to their labor until darkness descends.
24 [ag]How countless are your works, O Lord;
by your wisdom you have made them all;
the earth abounds with your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and broad,
filled with numberless species,
living creatures both great and small.
26 There the ships sail forth,
and the Leviathan[ah] that you formed to play therein.
27 [ai]All of them look to you
to give them their food at the appropriate time.[aj]
28 [ak]When you provide it for them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
29 When you turn away your face,[al]
they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit,[am]
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
31 [an]May the glory of the Lord abide forever,
and may the Lord rejoice in his works.[ao]
32 When he looks at the earth, it quakes;
when he touches the mountains, they smoke.[ap]
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;[aq]
I will sing praise to my God while I have life.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I find my joy in the Lord.
35 May sinners be banished from the earth,
and may the wicked no longer exist.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[ar]
Alleluia.
Chapter 2
Jesus Christ—and Him Crucified. 1 When I came to you, brethren, I did not proclaim to you the mystery of God[a] with words of eloquence or wisdom. 2 For I resolved that, while I was with you, I would know nothing except Jesus Christ—and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in great trepidation. 4 My message and my proclamation were not made with persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,[b] 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
The Mysterious Wisdom of God
The Plan of God, True Wisdom. 6 However, to those who are mature, we do speak of wisdom, although not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age[c] whose end is not far distant. 7 Rather, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age comprehended it. If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.[d] 9 For as it is written,
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard,
nor has the human heart imagined
what God has prepared for those who love him.”
10 The Spirit Enables Faith To Mature. However, God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit explores everything, even the depths of God. 11 And just as no human being comprehends any person’s innermost being except the person’s own spirit within him, so also no one comprehends what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed upon us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words taught to us not by human wisdom but by the Spirit, expressing spiritual things in spiritual words.[e]
14 An unspiritual person refuses to accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him such things are foolish. He is unable to understand them because they can be discerned only in a spiritual way. 15 A spiritual person[f] discerns all things, and he is himself subject to no one else’s judgment:
16 “For who has ever known the mind of the Lord?
Who has ever been his instructor?”
But we possess the mind of Christ.
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