Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

106 Praise the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
    His faithful love continues forever.
² Who can speak enough about the mighty acts of the Lord?
    Who can praise him as much as he should be praised?
³ Blessed are those who always do what is fair.
    Blessed are those who keep doing what is right.
⁴ Lord, remember me when you bless your people.
    Help me when you save them.
⁵ Then I will enjoy the good things you give your chosen ones.
    I will be joyful together with your people.
    I will join them when they praise you.

⁶ We have sinned, just as our people of long ago did.
    We too have done what is evil and wrong.
⁷ When our people were in Egypt,
    they forgot about the Lord’s miracles.
They didn’t remember his many kind acts.
    At the Red Sea they refused to obey him.
⁸ But he saved them for the honor of his name.
    He did it to make his mighty power known.
⁹ He ordered the Red Sea to dry up, and it did.
    He led his people through it as if it were a desert.
¹⁰ He saved them from the power of their enemies.
    He set them free from their control.
¹¹ The waters covered their enemies.
    Not one of them escaped alive.
¹² Then his people believed his promises
    and sang praise to him.

² “Who has stirred up a king from the east?
    Who has helped him win his battles?
I hand nations over to him.
    I bring kings under his control.
He turns them into dust with his sword.
    With his bow he turns them into straw blowing in the wind.
³ He hunts them down. Then he moves on unharmed.
    He travels so fast that his feet
    don’t seem to touch the ground.
⁴ Who has made that happen? Who has carried it out?
    Who has created all the people who have ever lived?
I, the Lord, have done it.
    I was with the first of them.
    And I will be with the last of them.”

⁵ The people on the islands have seen that king coming.
    And it has made them afraid.
    People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other.
They come and gather together.
⁶     They help one another.
    They say to one another, “Be strong!”
⁷ One skilled worker makes a statue of a god.
    Another covers it with gold.
The first worker says to the second,
    “You have done a good job.”
Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer.
    Still another gives the statue its final shape.
The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,
    “You have done a good job.”
    Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.

⁸ The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
    Family of Jacob, I have chosen you.
    You are the children of my friend Abraham.
⁹ I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other.
    From the farthest places on earth I brought you together.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
    I have chosen you.
    I have not turned my back on you.
¹⁰ So do not be afraid. I am with you.
    Do not be terrified. I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
    I will hold you safe in my hands.
    I always do what is right.

¹¹ “All those who are angry with you will be put to shame.
    And they will be dishonored.
Those who oppose you will be destroyed.
    And they will vanish.
¹² You might search for your enemies.
    But you will not find them.
Those who go to war against you
    will completely disappear.
¹³ I am the Lord your God.
    I take hold of your right hand.
I say to you, ‘Do not be afraid.
    I will help you.’