Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 145
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.(A)
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.(B)
4 One generation shall extol your works to another
and shall declare your mighty acts.(C)
5 They will recount the glorious[a] splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works I will meditate.(D)
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.(E)
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.(F)
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.(G)
3 The shields of his warriors are red;
his soldiers are clothed in crimson.
The metal on the chariots flashes
on the day when he musters them;
the chargers[a] prance.(A)
4 The chariots race madly through the streets;
they rush to and fro through the squares;
their appearance is like torches;
they dart like lightning.(B)
5 He calls his officers;
they stumble as they come forward;
they hasten to the wall,
and the screen[b] is set up.
6 The river gates are opened;
the palace trembles.
7 It is decreed[c] that the city[d] be exiled,
its slave women led away,
moaning like doves
and beating their breasts.(C)
8 Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters[e] run away.
“Halt! Halt!”—
but no one turns back.(D)
9 “Plunder the silver;
plunder the gold!
There is no end of treasure!
An abundance of every precious thing!”
10 Devastation, desolation, and destruction!
Hearts faint and knees tremble;
all loins quake;
all faces grow pale!(E)
11 What became of the lions’ den,
the cave of the young lions,
where the lion goes,
and the lion’s cubs, with no one to disturb them?(F)
12 The lion has torn enough for his whelps
and strangled prey for his lionesses;
he has filled his caves with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.(G)
13 See, I am against you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your[f] chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.(H)
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!(A) 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may be restored.(B) 10 So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.(C)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.