Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 104
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great!
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 covering Yourself with light as a garment,
who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 who lays the upper beams of His chambers on the waters above,
who makes the clouds His chariot,
who rides upon the wings of the wind,
4 who makes His angels as winds,
His ministers a flaming fire.
5 You laid the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they departed away.
8 The mountains rose up;
the valleys went down
to the place that You appointed them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
that they may not again cover the earth.
10 You send the springs to gush forth in the valleys,
which flow between the hills.
11 They give drink to every animal of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 You water the mountains from Your lofty chamber;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
and plants for the cultivation of man,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
and oil that makes shine his face,
and bread that strengthens his heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that He has planted,
17 where the birds make their nests,
where the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats,
and the rocks a refuge for the badgers.
19 He set the moon to mark the appointed seasons;
the sun knows its time for going down.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest go forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 When the sun arises, they gather themselves together
and lay down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
With wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures—
25 so is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living animals both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
27 These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When You hide Your face,
they are troubled;
You take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit,
they are created,
and You renew the surface of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, 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 May my meditation be sweet to Him,
for I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
7 Before she was in labor,
she gave birth;
before her pain came,
she delivered a son.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
she brought forth her sons.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth
and not cause delivery? says the Lord.
Shall I who cause delivery
shut the womb? says your God.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice exceedingly with her,
all you who mourn for her,
11 that you may feed and be satisfied
with her consoling breasts,
that you may feed
and be delighted with the abundance of her bosom.
12 For thus says the Lord:
I will extend peace to her like a river
and the glory of the nations like a flowing stream.
Then you shall nurse, you shall be carried on her sides,
and dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Care and Anxiety(A)
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor for your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns. Yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds? 25 Who of you by worrying can add one cubit[a] to his height? 26 If you then cannot do what is least, why are you anxious about the other things?
27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They neither spin nor weave. Yet I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 And do not seek what you will eat or what you will drink, nor be of an anxious mind. 30 For the nations of the world seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given to you.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.