Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁵ All heaven shall praise your miracles, O Lord; myriads of angels^[a] will praise you for your faithfulness. ⁶ For who in all of heaven can be compared with God? What mightiest angel^[b] is anything like him? ⁷ The highest of angelic powers^[c] stand in dread and awe of him. Who is as revered as he by those surrounding him? ⁸ O Jehovah, Commander of the heavenly armies, where is there any other Mighty One like you? Faithfulness is your very character.

⁹ You rule the oceans when their waves arise in fearful storms; you speak, and they lie still. ¹⁰ You have cut haughty Egypt^[d] to pieces. Your enemies are scattered by your awesome power. ¹¹ The heavens are yours, the world, everything—for you created them all. ¹² You created north and south! Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon rejoice to be signed by your name as their maker! ¹³ Strong is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.

^14-15 Your throne is founded on two strong pillars—the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence. ¹⁶ They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation and in your perfect righteousness. ¹⁷ You are their strength. What glory! Our power is based on your favor! ¹⁸ Yes, our protection is from the Lord himself and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

¹⁹ In a vision you spoke to your prophet^[e] and said, “I have chosen a splendid young man from the common people to be the king— ²⁰ he is my servant David! I have anointed him with my holy oil. ²¹ I will steady him and make him strong. ²² His enemies shall not outwit him, nor shall the wicked overpower him. ²³ I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. ²⁴ I will protect and bless him constantly and surround him with my love; he will be great because of me. ²⁵ He will hold sway from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁶ And he will cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and my Rock of Salvation.’

²⁷ “I will treat him as my firstborn son and make him the mightiest king in all the earth. ²⁸ I will love him forever and be kind to him always; my covenant with him will never end. ²⁹ He will always have an heir; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. ^30-32 If his children forsake my laws and don’t obey them, then I will punish them, ³³ but I will never completely take away my loving-kindness from them, nor let my promise fail. ³⁴ No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back one word of what I said. ^35-36 For I have sworn to David (and a holy God can never lie) that his dynasty will go on forever, and his throne will continue to the end of time.^{[f] 37} It shall be eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!”

51 ^1-2 Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance, who seek the Lord! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. You worry at being so small and few, but Abraham was only one when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation. ³ And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs.

⁴ Listen to me, my people; listen, O Israel, for I will see that right prevails. ⁵ My mercy and justice are coming soon; your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations; they shall wait for me and long for me to come. ⁶ Look high in the skies and watch the earth beneath, for the skies shall disappear like smoke, the earth shall wear out like a garment, and the people of the earth shall die like flies. But my salvation lasts forever; my righteous rule will never die nor end.

⁷ Listen to me, you who know the right from wrong and cherish my laws in your hearts: don’t be afraid of people’s scorn or their slanderous talk. ⁸ For the moth shall destroy them like garments; the worm shall eat them like wool; but my justice and mercy shall last forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

⁹ Awake, O Lord! Rise up and robe yourself with strength. Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon^[a] of the Nile. ¹⁰ Are you not the same today, the mighty God who dried up the sea, making a path right through it for your ransomed ones? ¹¹ The time will come when God’s redeemed will all come home again. They shall come with singing to Jerusalem, filled with joy and everlasting gladness; sorrow and mourning will all disappear.

¹² I, even I, am he who comforts you and gives you all this joy. So what right have you to fear mere mortal men, who wither like the grass and disappear? ¹³ And yet you have no fear of God, your Maker—you have forgotten him, the one who spread the stars throughout the skies and made the earth. Will you be in constant dread of men’s oppression, and fear their anger all day long? ¹⁴ Soon, soon you slaves shall be released; dungeon, starvation, and death are not your fate. ¹⁵ For I am the Lord your God, the Lord Almighty, who dried a path for you right through the sea, between the roaring waves. ¹⁶ And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safe within my hand. I planted the stars in place and molded all the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, “You are mine.”

¹⁵ But he knew what they were planning and left the synagogue, with many following him. He healed all the sick among them, ¹⁶ but he cautioned them against spreading the news about his miracles. ¹⁷ This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: