Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of David.
145 I will tell of your greatness, my God and King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise!
No one can fully understand his greatness!
4 Each generation will praise you
and tell the next generation about the great things you do.
5 Your majesty and glory are wonderful.
I will tell about your miracles.
6 People will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell everyone how great you are.
7 They will talk about your goodness
and sing about your justice.
8 The Lord is kind and merciful,
patient and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He shows his mercy to everything he made.
10 Lord, all you have made will give thanks to you.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will tell how great your kingdom is.
They will tell how great you are.
12 So others will learn about the mighty things you do,
about the glory of your kingdom—how marvelous it is!
13 Your kingdom will never end,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord can be trusted in all that he says.
He is loyal in all that he does.[a]
14 The Lord lifts up people who have fallen.
He helps those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for their food,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hands
and give every living thing all that it needs.
17 Everything the Lord does is good.
Everything he does shows how loyal he is.
18 The Lord is near to everyone
who sincerely calls to him for help.
19 He listens to his followers and does what they want.
He answers their prayers and saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he destroys all who do evil.
21 I will praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise his holy name forever and ever!
God Brings His People Home
54 “Woman, be happy!
You have not had any children,
but you should be very happy.
“Yes, the woman who is alone[a]
will have more children than the woman with a husband.”
This is what the Lord says.
2 “Make your tent bigger.
Open your doors wide.
Don’t think small!
Make your tent large and strong,
3 because you will grow in all directions.
Your children will take over many nations
and live in the cities that were destroyed.
4 Don’t be afraid!
You will not be disappointed.
People will not say bad things against you.
You will not be embarrassed.
When you were young, you felt shame.
But you will forget that shame now.
You will not remember the shame you felt
when you lost your husband.[b]
5 Your real husband is the one who made you.
His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
The Holy One of Israel is your Protector,[c]
and he is the God of all the earth!
6 “Like a woman whose husband has left her,
you were very sad.
You were like a young wife left all alone.
But the Lord has called you back to him.”
This is what your God says.
7 “For a short time I turned away from you,
but with all my love I will welcome you again.
8 I was so angry that for a while I did not want to see you.
But now I want to comfort you with kindness forever.”
The Lord your Savior said this.
9 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. 10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. 11 As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! 12 Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. 13 Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes.
14 Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them. 15 When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too. 16 Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.
17 If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one who punishes;
I will pay people back.”(A)
20 But you should do this:
“If you have enemies who are hungry,
give them something to eat.
If you have enemies who are thirsty,
give them something to drink.
In doing this you will make them feel ashamed.[a]” (B)
21 Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International