A reading from the book of Proverbs.

Thus says God’s being, Wisdom:

‘You Yahweh, begot me, the first born of your ways,

the forerunner of your prodigies of long ago;

From of old I was poured forth,

from the first,

before the beginnings of the world;

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

No fountains or springs of water;

Before the mountains were settled into place,

Before the hills, I was brought forth;

While as yet the earth and the fields were not made,

nor the first clods of the world.

“When you established the heavens I was there,

when you marked out the vault over the face of the deep;

When you set the sun in the skies firmly on high,

when you fixed fast the fountains of the earth;

When you set for the sea its limit,

so the waters should not disobey the bounds you commanded;

Then I was beside you as your assistant”

binding you with daily joy,

Constantly making merry in front of you,

and delighting in your descendants.”

The Word of God recorded in the book of Proverbs.

R:  How wonderful is Your Name, O God, through all the earth!

When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

the moon and stars which You set in place-­

Who are we that You should be mindful of us,

that You should care for us?

R: How wonderful is Your Name, O God, through all the earth!

You have made us little less than the gods

and crowned us with glory and honor.

You have given us rule over the works of Your hands,

putting all things under our feet.

R: How wonderful is Your Name, O God, through all the earth!

All sheep and oxen,

yes, and the beasts of the field.

The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea

and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

R: How wonderful is Your Name, O God, through all the earth!