O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
1 lBless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are mvery great!
nYou are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
ostretching out the heavens plike a tent.
3 He qlays the beams of his rchambers on the waters;
he makes sthe clouds his chariot;
he rides on tthe wings of the wind;
4 he umakes his messengers winds,
5 He xset the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You ycovered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At zyour rebuke they fled;
at athe sound of your thunder they btook to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you cappointed for them.
9 You set da boundary that they may not pass,
so that they emight not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they fgive drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 gFrom your lofty abode you hwater the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause ithe grass to grow for the livestock
and jplants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth kfood from the earth
15 and lwine to gladden the heart of man,
moil to make his face shine
and bread to nstrengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
othe cedars of Lebanon pthat he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for qthe wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for rthe rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the sseasons;1
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 tYou make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 uThe young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their vdens.
23 wMan goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In xwisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
ywhich teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
27 These ball look to you,
to cgive them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you dopen your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you ehide your face, they are fdismayed;
when you gtake away their breath, they die
and hreturn to their dust.
30 When you isend forth your Spirit,3 they are created,
and you jrenew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord kendure forever;
may the Lord lrejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it mtrembles,
who ntouches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord oas long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my pmeditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let qsinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
rBless the Lord, O my soul!
sPraise the Lord!
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
1 You then, wmy child, xbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and ywhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses zentrust to faithful men,1 awho will be able to teach others also. 3 bShare in suffering as ca good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier dgets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 eAn athlete is not fcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is gthe hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, hrisen from the dead, the ioffspring of David, jas preached in my gospel, 9 kfor which I am suffering, lbound with chains as a criminal. But mthe word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore nI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain othe salvation that is in Christ Jesus with peternal glory. 11 The saying is qtrustworthy, for:
rIf we have died with him, we will also slive with him;
12 tif we endure, we will also reign with him;
uif we deny him, he also will deny us;
for xhe cannot deny himself.
A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of these things, and ycharge them before God2 znot to quarrel about words, awhich does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But cavoid dirreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are eHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, fsaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: g“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone hwho names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in ia great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, jsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, kif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,4 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, lready for every good work.
22 So mflee nyouthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with othose who call on the Lord pfrom a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant qcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And rthe Lord’s servant5 must not be quarrelsome but skind to everyone, table to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents uwith gentleness. God vmay perhaps grant them repentance wleading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from xthe snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
