Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Watches Over All His Works

104 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great. You are dressed with great honor and wonderful power. ² He covers Himself with light as with a coat. He spreads out the heavens like a tent. ³ He makes His home on the waters. He makes the clouds His wagon. He rides on the wings of the wind. ⁴ He makes the winds carry His news. He makes His helpers a burning fire.

⁵ He set the earth in its place so that it will stay that way forever. ⁶ You covered it with the sea as with a coat. The waters stood above the mountains. ⁷ The waters left at Your strong words. They went away in a hurry at the sound of Your thunder. ⁸ The mountains went up and the valleys went down to the place that You made for them. ⁹ You set a place that they may not pass over. The waters will never cover the earth again.

¹⁰ He sends rivers into the valleys. They flow between the mountains. ¹¹ They give water to all the animals of the field. The wild donkeys drink until they are no longer thirsty. ¹² The birds of the sky nest beside them. They sing among the branches. ¹³ He waters the mountains from His home above. The earth is filled with the fruit of His works.

¹⁴ He makes the grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to use. So He may bring food from the earth, ¹⁵ wine that makes man’s heart glad, oil to make his face shine, and food to make his heart strong. ¹⁶ The tall cedar trees that the Lord planted in Lebanon drink their fill. ¹⁷ The birds make their nests there. The stork has its nest in the green trees.

¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a safe place for the badgers. ¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the time of year. And the sun knows when to go down. ²⁰ You make darkness and it becomes night. Then all the wild animals among the trees come out. ²¹ The young lions make a loud noise as they go after meat. And they get their food from God. ²² They go to their homes and lie down when the sun rises. ²³ Then man goes out to his work and works until evening.

²⁴ O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. ²⁵ There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. ²⁶ The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.

²⁷ They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. ²⁸ You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. ²⁹ They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. ³⁰ They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.

³¹ May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. ³² He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. ³³ I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ³⁴ May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord. ³⁵ Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

Elijah Fed by Ravens

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of the people who were staying in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, for sure there will be no rain or water on the grass in the early morning these years, except by my word.” ² And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Leave here and turn east. Hide yourself by the river Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the river. And I have told the ravens to bring food to you there.” ⁵ So he went and did what he was told by the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the river Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening. And he drank from the river. ⁷ But after a while, the river dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Woman Whose Husband Had Died

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Get up and go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. I have told a woman there, whose husband has died, to feed you.” ¹⁰ So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he came to the city gate, he saw a woman there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “I ask of you, get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her, “I ask of you, bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I only have enough flour in the jar to fill a hand, and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so I may go in and make it ready for me and my son. Then we will eat it and die.” ¹³ Elijah said to her, “Have no fear. Go and do as you have said. But make me a little loaf of bread from it first, and bring it out to me. Then you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. And the jar of oil will not be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did what Elijah said. And she and he and those of her house ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not become empty. It happened as was spoken by the word of the Lord through Elijah.

⁶ Christian brothers, I have used Apollos and myself to show you what I am talking about. This is to help you so you will not think more of men than what God’s Word will allow. Never think more of one of God’s servants than another. ⁷ Who made you better than your brother? Or what do you have that has not been given to you? If God has given you everything, why do you have pride? Why do you act as if He did not give it to you? ⁸ You are full. You are rich. You live like kings and we do not. I wish you were kings and we could be leaders with you. ⁹ I think that God has made a show of us missionaries. We are the last and the least among men. We are like men waiting to be put to death. The whole world, men and angels alike, are watching us. ¹⁰ We are thought of as fools because of Christ. But you are thought of as wise Christians! We are weak. You are strong. People respect you. They have no respect for us. ¹¹ To this hour we are hungry and thirsty, and our clothes are worn out. People hurt us. We have no homes.

¹² We work with our hands to make a living. We speak kind words to those who speak against us. When people hurt us, we say nothing. ¹³ When people say bad things about us, we answer with kind words. People think of us as dirt that is worth nothing and as the worst thing on earth to this day.

Follow Paul’s Way of Life

¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you. I am doing this to help you know what you should do. You are my much-loved children. ¹⁵ You may have 10,000 Christian teachers. But remember, I am the only father you have. You became Christians when I preached the Good News to you. ¹⁶ So I ask you with all my heart to follow the way I live. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. He is my much-loved child and a faithful Christian. He will tell you how I act as a Christian. This is the kind of life I teach in the churches wherever I go.

¹⁸ Some of you are full of pride. You think that I am not coming to visit you. ¹⁹ If the Lord wants me to, I will come soon. I will find out when I come if these proud people have God’s power, or if they just use a lot of big words. ²⁰ The holy nation of God is not made up of words. It is made up of power. ²¹ What do you want? Do you want me to come with a stick to whip you? Or do you want me to come with love and a gentle spirit?