Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

145 I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
    I will bless your name forever and always.
² I will bless you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and always.
³ The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
    God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
⁴ One generation will praise your works to the next one,
    proclaiming your mighty acts.
⁵ They will talk all about^[b] the glorious splendor of your majesty;
    I will contemplate your wondrous works.
⁶ They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
    I will declare your great accomplishments.
⁷ They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
    they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:
⁸     “The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    very patient, and full of faithful love.
⁹     The Lord is good to everyone and everything;
    God’s compassion extends to all his handiwork!”
¹⁰ All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord;
    all your faithful ones bless you!
¹¹ They speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they talk all about your power,
¹²     to inform all human beings about God’s power
    and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;
    your rule endures for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all that he says,
    faithful in all that he does.^[c]
14 The Lord supports all who fall down,
    straightens up all who are bent low.
¹⁵ All eyes look to you, hoping,
    and you give them their food right on time,
¹⁶     opening your hand
    and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
    faithful in all his deeds.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,
    to all who call out to him sincerely.
¹⁹ God shows favor to those who honor him,
    listening to their cries for help and saving them.
²⁰ The Lord protects all who love him,
    but he destroys every wicked person.
²¹ My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
    and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
        forever and always.

4 Look at you—so beautiful, my dearest!
Look at you—so beautiful! Your eyes are doves
        behind the veil of your hair!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
        as they stream down Mount Gilead.
² Your teeth are like newly shorn ewes
        as they come up from the washing pool—
        all of them perfectly matched,
        not one of them lacks its twin.
³ Like a crimson ribbon are your lips;
        when you smile, it is lovely.
Like a slice of pomegranate is the curve of your face
        behind the veil of your hair.
⁴ Like David’s tower is your neck,
        splendidly built!
A thousand shields are hung upon it—
        all the weapons of the warriors.
⁵ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
        twins of a gazelle doe,
        that graze among the lilies.
⁶ Before the day breeze blows
        and the shadows flee,
        I will be off to the mountain of myrrh,
        to the hill of frankincense.
⁷ You are utterly beautiful, my dearest;
        there’s not a single flaw in you.

⁸ Come down with me from Lebanon, my bride—
        if only you would come down with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the peak of Amana,
        from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
        from the lions’ dens,
        from the mountain lairs of leopards.