Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
104 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty—
2 who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
3 who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
4 who maketh His angels spirits, His ministers a flaming fire;
5 who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should never be removed.
6 Thou covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of Thy thunder they hastened away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which Thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them shall the fowls of the heavens have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
13 He watereth the hills from His chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herbs for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth,
15 and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted,
17 where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his time to go down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.
22 When the sun ariseth, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches.
25 So also is this great and wide sea, wherein are innumerable creeping things, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships; there also is that leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein.
27 These all wait upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 What Thou givest them, they gather: Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever; the Lord shall rejoice in His works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of Him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul! Praise ye the Lord!
17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except according to my word.”
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 “Get thee hence and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the Brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.
4 And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord; for he went and dwelt by the Brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.”
12 And she said, “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. And behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
13 And Elijah said unto her, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel: ‘The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.’”
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house ate for many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
6 And these things, brethren, I have in a sense transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that ye may learn through us not to regard men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou did not receive? Now if thou did receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou had not been given it?
8 Now ye are full, now ye are rich! Ye have reigned as kings without us! And I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you!
9 For I think that God hath set forth us, the apostles, last, as it were approved to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised.
11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it;
13 being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
14 I write these things not to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved sons.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet ye have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.
16 Therefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
17 For this cause I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up as though I would not come to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and will know, not the speech of those who are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
21 What will ye have? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?
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