Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 145[a]
Praise of the Divine Majesty
1 [b]Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King;
I will bless your name[c] forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.[d]
3 [e]Great is the Lord and worthy of the highest praise;
no one can even begin to comprehend his greatness.[f]
4 Each generation will praise your works[g] to the next
and proclaim your mighty deeds.
5 People will proclaim the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds,
and I will relate your greatness.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and sing joyfully of your saving justice.
8 [h]The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.[i]
9 The Lord is good to all,
showing compassion to every creature.
10 All your creatures praise you,[j] O Lord,
and all your saints bless you.
11 They relate the glory of your kingdom
and tell of all your power.[k]
12 They make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will last forever,
and your dominion will endure throughout all generations.[l]
[m]The Lord is faithful in all his promises
and kind[n] in all his deeds.
14 The Lord supports all those who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.[o]
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.[p]
17 [q]The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and merciful in everything he does.[r]
18 The Lord is near to all who call out to him,
to all who call out to him sincerely.[s]
19 He satisfies the desires of all who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.[t]
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but he will completely destroy all the wicked.[u]
21 May my mouth declare the praise of the Lord,
and may every creature[v] bless his holy name
forever and ever.
Chapter 4
How Beautiful You Are, My Beloved[a]
Bridegroom:
1 How beautiful you are, my beloved;
your beauty has achieved perfection.
Your eyes are doves[b]
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing.
Each one of them has a twin;
not a single one is unpaired with the other.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David
built layer upon layer;
a thousand bucklers hang upon it,
all of them shields of valiant warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
young twins of a gazelle
that graze among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn comes,
and the shadows flee,
I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7 You are all-beautiful, my love,
without the slightest blemish.[c]
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my promised bride;[d]
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend quickly from the heights of Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I continually give thanks to my God for you because of his grace that has been granted to you in Christ Jesus. 5 For through him you have been enriched in every way in all facets of speech and knowledge, 6 as our testimony about Christ has been confirmed in you.
7 Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you steadfast until the very end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, and it is by him that you have been called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church of Corinth[a]
10 The Existence of Factions. Brethren, I exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in full agreement with one another and not permit any divisions to arise among you. Be perfectly united in mind and purpose. 11 For I have heard reports from Chloe’s people, brethren, that there are quarrels among you.[b]
12 What I mean is that each of you is asserting, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”[c] or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ now been divided? Did Paul die on the cross for you? Was it in Paul’s name that you were baptized?
14 I am thankful that I never baptized any of you, aside from Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. ( 16 I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Aside from those I do not know if I baptized anyone else.)
17 The Message of the Cross and Human Wisdom.[d] For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel—and to do so without words of human wisdom lest the cross of Christ be devoid of its meaning.
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