Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Great Is the Lord
[a] A Song of Praise. Of David.
145 (A)I will extol you, my God and (B)King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
(C)and praise your name for ever and ever.
3 (D)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his (E)greatness is unsearchable.
4 (F)One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On (G)the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of (H)the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your (I)abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is (J)gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
3 The shield of his mighty men is red;
(A)his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal
on the day he musters them;
the cypress spears are brandished.
4 (B)The chariots race madly through the streets;
they rush to and fro through the squares;
they gleam like torches;
they dart like lightning.
5 He remembers (C)his officers;
(D)they stumble as they go,
they hasten to the wall;
the siege tower[a] is set up.
6 (E)The river gates are opened;
the palace (F)melts away;
7 its mistress[b] is (G)stripped;[c] she is carried off,
her slave girls (H)lamenting,
moaning like doves
and beating their breasts.
8 (I)Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters run away.[d]
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
but (J)none turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
plunder the gold!
There is no end of the treasure
or of the wealth of all precious things.
10 (K)Desolate! Desolation and ruin!
(L)Hearts melt and (M)knees tremble;
(N)anguish is in all loins;
(O)all faces grow pale!
11 Where is the lions' den,
the feeding place of (P)the young lions,
where the lion and lioness went,
where his cubs were, with (Q)none to disturb?
12 (R)The lion tore enough for his cubs
and (S)strangled prey for his lionesses;
he filled his caves with prey
and his dens with torn flesh.
13 (T)Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and (U)I will burn your[e] chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and (V)the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. (A)Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that (B)Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do 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 are glad when (C)we are weak and you are strong. Your (D)restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come (E)I may not have to be (F)severe in my use of (G)the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.