Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
10 He turns springs into streams;[k]
they flow between the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes.[l]
13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;[m]
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.[n]
14 He provides grass[o] for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate,[p]
so they can produce food from the ground,[q]
15 as well as wine that makes people glad,[r]
and olive oil to make their faces shine,[s]
as well as bread that sustains them.[t]
16 The trees of the Lord[u] receive all the rain they need,[v]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live.[w]
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains;[x]
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
19 He made the moon to mark the months,[y]
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.[z]
20 You make it dark and night comes,[aa]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[ab]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[ac] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[ad]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![ae]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[af]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[ag]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[ah]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[ai] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[aj] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[ak]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[al]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[am]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[an]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[ao]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[ap]
34 May my thoughts[aq] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[ar] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
Invocation of Witnesses
32 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew,[a]
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
3 For I will proclaim the name[b] of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
4 As for the Rock,[c] his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair[d] and upright.
5 His people have been unfaithful[e] to him;
they have not acted like his children[f]—this is their sin.[g]
They are a perverse[h] and deceitful generation.
6 Is this how you repay[i] the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your Creator?
He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind[j] the years of past generations.[k]
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High[l] gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind,[m]
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly.[n]
9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,
Jacob is his special possession.[o]
10 The Lord[p] found him[q] in a desolate land,[r]
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.[s]
He continually guarded him[t] and taught him;[u]
he continually protected him[v] like the pupil[w] of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up[x] its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so the Lord[y] spread out his wings and took him,[z]
he lifted him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone was guiding him,[aa]
no foreign god was with him.
13 He enabled him[ab] to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs,[ac]
and olive oil[ad] from the hardest of[ae] rocks,[af]
14 butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice[ag] of grapes you drank wine.
32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison,[a] and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly[b] had a better and lasting possession. 35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it[c] has great reward. 36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.[d] 37 For just a little longer[e] and he who is coming will arrive and not delay.[f] 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I[g] take no pleasure in him.[h] 39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.[i]
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