Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise to God the King
A psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I praise your greatness, my God the King;
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;
no one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty, and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness
and will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone;
he is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you;
those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will go on and on,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord will keep all his promises;
he is loyal to all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated
and takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food,
and you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
He is loyal to all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who respect him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
9 My sister, my bride,
you have thrilled my heart;
you have thrilled my heart
with a glance of your eyes,
with one sparkle from your necklace.
10 Your love is so sweet, my sister, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
and your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 My bride, your lips drip honey;
honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes smell like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are like a garden locked up,
like a walled-in spring, a closed-up fountain.
13 Your limbs are like an orchard
of pomegranates with all the best fruit,
filled with flowers and nard,
14 nard and saffron, calamus, and cinnamon,
with trees of incense, myrrh, and aloes—
all the best spices.
15 You are like a garden fountain—
a well of fresh water
flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon.
The Woman Speaks
16 Awake, north wind.
Come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and let its sweet smells flow out.
Let my lover enter the garden
and eat its best fruits.
The Man Speaks
5 I have entered my garden, my sister, my bride.
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
The Friends Speak
Eat, friends, and drink;
yes, drink deeply, lovers.
Jesus Answers a Question
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often fast[a] for a certain time and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36 Jesus told them this story: “No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. Otherwise, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth. 37 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the new wine will break the bags, the wine will spill out, and the leather bags will be ruined. 38 New wine must be put into new leather bags. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, ‘The old wine is better.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.