WHO CAN COMPREHEND?

O LORD God of all greatness,

The Eternal God, the Holy One, God the Righteous, You the Almighty,

I will praise Your name forever 

And proclaim Your excellencies to the children of men.

Let the whole earth sing praises to our God!

Let the host of heaven proclaim His glory,

And the sea and its inhabitants shout for joy!

For great is the LORD our God!

The universe is full of His steadfast love

And excellent are His works!

 

You, O LORD, are high and lofty;

You are clothed with majesty and splendor!

O LORD, from everlasting to everlasting You are God!

The heavens are the works of Your hand;

The earth and the seas were fashioned by Your fingers.

You filled them with their inhabitants,

And by Your breath they are preserved.

 

You, O LORD, are sovereign and King forever!

Your majesty is over the universe and throughout all generations.

You rule over the earth, the sky and the sea and all their inhabitants;

Out of nothing You created them all.

You, O LORD, reign supreme over the host of heaven;

For by Your Word they were all created!

Day and night they worship You, O Lord,

And the sons of mankind tremble at Your sight.

You rule over them with might and reign in righteousness.

You search their hearts and call to account all their deeds.

Holy is the Lord our God and just are His judgments!

 

You, O Lord, are King over all!

Your praise extends to the ends of the earth

And Your glory throughout all generations.

Great and holy is Your name, O Lord!

And blessed is the man who fears Your name.

Yours alone, O God, are glory, majesty and strength!

All the kings of the nations will answer our God;

You will call to account all their deeds.

Those who reject Your counsel shall come cringing to You;

They shall perish before You.

But those who fear Your name shall exult before You,

They shall see Your face forever!

 

You, O God, are exalted above the heavens

And Your glory shines over all the earth.

Good and gracious is the Lord,

And excellent are His ways!

The Lord our God preserves the works of His hand;

By His breath they are kept.

All creatures look to You alone, O God,

For You are the Fountain of life!

Holy and good is our God, 

And bountiful His providential care!

 

O God, You are my salvation and my strength!

You make me drink from the river of Your delights,

The river whose streams make glad the eternal City of God, the Heavenly Jerusalem.

In Your wings, O Lord, there is healing!

You, O God, are the Sun of Righteousness!

Light dwells with You

And in You there is life.

In Your Light, O God, we see light!

 

Holy is our God, the LORD our righteousness, and greatly to be feared!

He requires blood for the guilt of sinful men;

But He shed His own blood, 

That I might appear blameless before Him.

By Your blood, O Lord, I have been purified,

Redeemed from the curse.

The pit was about to close its mouth over me,

For my iniquities were higher than the sky.

But by Your righteous hand You rescued me from the gates of death

And vested my soul with blissful joy and life everlasting. 

 

Who can comprehend Your greatness and meekness, O Lord?

You are far above and beyond the created universe;

Yet You humbled Yourself and became like the least of us!

O Glorious One, You left Your throne on high

And clothed Yourself with humanity!

You came into this world and took the place of a worm, a filthy worm,

So that I may see light;

For darkness was my dwelling place and death my companion.

Your strength was dried up like a potsherd, 

That my soul may be drenched with living water.

For the sake of my soul You suffered disgrace and death.

 

Who can comprehend Your grace and steadfast love, O Lord?

You, the Infinite One, clothed Yourself with finitude!

For a little while You were made lower than the angels 

And held in contempt by the sons of men.

You were held in disrepute,

That I may be given grace and glory;

You suffered humiliation and cruciation,

To make me Your delight forever! `

O Lord, You were broken so that I could be made whole,

Poured out like water, that I may be filled,

Cursed, that I may be blessed,

Laid in the dust of death, 

That I may be raised to life!

 

O Lord, God of my peace,

I will praise Your name forever.

You have imparted life to my soul!

You were forsaken, so that I may be taken in.

Your life was spent with sorrow and grief,

That I may be filled with eternal, heavenly joy.

You were hated without cause

In order that I may be graciously loved.

 

You, O Lord, are the God of my salvation, my Rock and my Deliverer.

You surround me with Your steadfast love

And clothe my heart with gladness. 

Darkness was my dwelling place and death my companion.

But You, O Lord, You the Immortal God,

You took on mortality to save us from the sting of death.

O God, You are rich in grace and mercy!

 

Who is like the Lord, the Righteous One, mighty and meek?

Your tenderheartedness, O Holy One, surpasses human understanding.

You are gentle and lowly in heart!

You delivered Yourself up willingly for our evil deeds. 

By perverse and corrupt men You were wrongfully charged!

You, O Judge of all, by lawless men were condemned

And killed by ungodly people!

Like a sheep, You were led to the slaughter.

The iniquities of us all were laid on You.

The host of heaven marvelled at Your sight, O King of glory,

As You suffered death to bring life to Your chosen ones!

 

Life has conquered Death, 

Darkness is defeated by Light!

Victory was won at the cross, 

Where mercy and love meet. 

Paid in full, my sins are forgiven,

Washed away by the innocent blood of the Great King, my Lord and my God!

Healed and free, my soul is at rest,

Restored by the Lord my Redeemer.

My chains are broken and my glory is at peace;

For the Lord my God has taken away my guilt!

Upon the cross of Calvary, O Lord, You drained down the cup of Your anger to the dregs,

That Your chosen ones may be justified before You forever!

You spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, 

To bring me up from the depths of the earth.

 

O Lord our salvation, You are the Righteous God, the Holy One!

In Your hand there is a cup of staggering,

Prepared for all the wicked of the earth,

A cup filled with the wine of Your wrath.

But You, O Lord, have held it back from me

And have prepared for me a cup of blessing,

Full of Your steadfast love and mercy.

 

I will thank the Lord my God forever.

He drew me out of the mire and set me upon the Rock.

I will praise my Rock all the days of my life.

He has delivered my soul from drought 

And brought me to the river of His delights, 

Where grace abounds and His mercy never ends.

The LORD has turned His wrath away from me;

A dwelling place You have prepared for me in Your eternal abode. 

You will take me to Your holy City and keep me in Your bosom forever.

 

My salvation is in the name of the LORD, the Just and the Justifier of the ungodly!

The LORD is my trust and my hope, my joy and my peace.

Praise be to my God, the LORD our Righteousness!

To Him belongs all glory forever and ever!

Amen.