Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.(A)
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly armies.(B)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.(C)
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded, and they were created.(E)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
he gave an order that will never pass away.(F)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
8 lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
stormy wind that executes his command,(H)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
resulting in praise to all his faithful ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to him.(N)
Hallelujah!
5 And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength—
6 he says,
“It is not enough for you to be my servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,(A)
to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”(B)
7 This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer(C) of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,[a](D)
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see, princes will stand up,
and they[b] will all bow down
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel(E)—and he has chosen you.”(F)
8 This is what the Lord says:
I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.(G)
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,(H)
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9 saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”(I)
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.(J)
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate one will guide them,
and lead them to springs.(K)
11 I will make all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.(L)
12 See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,[c](M)
and from the land of Sinim.[d][e]
13 Shout for joy, you heavens!(N)
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted his people,(O)
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.(P)
Zion Remembered
14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
True Relationships
46 While he(A) was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him.(B) 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”[a]
48 He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49 Stretching out his hand toward his disciples,(C) he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”(D)
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