Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 145
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.(A)
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.(B)
4 One generation shall extol your works to another
and shall declare your mighty acts.(C)
5 They will recount the glorious[a] splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works I will meditate.(D)
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.(E)
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.(F)
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.(G)
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.(H)
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.(I)
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your[b] mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your[c] kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.[d](J)
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.(K)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.(L)
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways
and kind in all his doings.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.(M)
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.(N)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.(O)
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.(A)
10 How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!(B)
11 Your lips distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.(C)
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden[a] locked, a fountain sealed.(D)
13 Your channel[b] is an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,(E)
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices—(F)
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.(G)
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden
that he may eat its choicest fruits.(H)
5 I come to my garden, my sister, my bride;
I gather my myrrh with my spice;
I eat my honeycomb with my honey;
I drink my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love.(I)
The Question about Fasting
33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.”(A) 34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding attendants fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”(B) 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise, not only will one tear the new garment, but the piece from the new will not match the old garment. 37 Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.[a] 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine but says, ‘The old is good.’ ”[b]
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.