Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 146
Praise Him for Protection
Praise for Protection
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
A Lifetime of Praise
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will make music to my God as long as I exist.
No Help in Humans
3 Do not trust in human helpers,[b]
in a mortal man who cannot save you.
4 His spirit departs.
He returns to the ground he came from.
On that day, his plans have perished.
Help in the Lord
5 Blessed is everyone who has the God of Jacob as his help.
His hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything which is in them.
He is the one who stays faithful forever.
7 He obtains justice for the oppressed.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the aliens.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but he turns aside the way of the wicked.
An Eternity for Praise
10 The Lord reigns forever.
Your God, O Zion, rules for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
The Righteous Kingdom
32
See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and officials will govern with justice.
2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water for a dry place,
like the shade of a massive cliff in a parched land.
3 The eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Hasty hearts[a] will gain understanding,
and stammering tongues will speak clearly.
5 The fool will no longer be called noble,
nor will rogues be treated like respectable people.[b]
6 The fool speaks folly,
and his heart plots evil:
to do what is ungodly,
to tell lies about the Lord,
to deny food to the hungry,
and to refuse even one drink for the thirsty.
7 The rogue’s ways are evil.
He plots evil to ruin the humble with lies,
even when the poor speak with justice.
8 But the noble man plans noble deeds,
and by noble deeds he stands.
12 Indeed, all people who have sinned without law will also perish without law, and all the people who have sinned in connection with law will be judged by law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who will be righteous in God’s sight, but those who do the law who will be declared righteous.
14 In fact, whenever Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires—even though they do not have the law—they are a law for themselves. 15 They demonstrate the work of the law that is written in their hearts, since their conscience also bears witness as their thoughts go back and forth, at times accusing or at times even defending them.
16 This will happen on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s secrets through Jesus Christ.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.