Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 138
May the Kings Praise You
Heading
By David.
Thanks From a Grateful Heart
1 I will thank you with all my heart.
Before the gods[a] I will make music for you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name
because of your mercy and because of your truth.
Yes, you made your word even greater than your name.[b]
3 By day I called, and you answered me.
You have made my soul strong.
4 All the kings of the earth will thank you, Lord,
when they have heard the message from your mouth.
5 Then they will sing about the ways of the Lord,
because the glory of the Lord is great.
6 Indeed the Lord is exalted, but he sees the lowly,
and he recognizes the proud from a distance.
7 If I walk surrounded by danger, you keep me alive
in spite of the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand.
You save me with your right hand.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose[c] for me.
Lord, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of the works[d] of your hands.
15 This is what the Lord God says. When Assyria went down to the grave,[a] I caused mourning everywhere. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained the rivers of the deep, and the plentiful waters were held back. I dressed Lebanon in black because of it, and all the trees in the countryside dried up because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I brought it down to the grave to be with those who have descended to the pit. Below the earth, all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all those that drink up water, consoled themselves, 17 even those who served as Assyria’s arm, those who lived in its shade among the nations, even those who went down to the grave with it, those run through by the sword.
18 To whom, then, can you be compared in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you shall be brought down below the earth, together with the trees of Eden. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, together with those run through by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, declares the Lord God.
12 To be sure, we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who speak highly of themselves. On the contrary, when they measure themselves only by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 But we will not boast about things that cannot be measured. Instead, we will boast according to the measure of the assignment that the God who measures things measured out to us: to reach out also as far as to you. 14 Indeed, we are not overdoing our boasting, as if we had not come to you. In fact, we were the first ones to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We are not boasting about things that cannot be measured, that is, in the hard work of others. But we are hoping that, as your faith grows, our assignment will be greatly increased while we are among you, 16 with the result that we will preach the gospel to the regions beyond you. Then we will not be boasting about what someone else has already done in his assignment. 17 But let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.[a] 18 To be sure, it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.