Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
David Praises the Lord for Rescuing Him.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18 “I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.”
2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;
My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold.(A)
3
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
And I am saved from my enemies.(B)
20
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity);
According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.
21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23
I was [a]blameless before Him,
And I kept myself free from my sin.
24
Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity),
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25
With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind,
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,
26
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
27
For You save an afflicted and humble people,
But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes.
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For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29
For by You I can crush a troop,
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
30
As for God, His way is [b]blameless.
The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless];
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
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For who is God, but the Lord?
Or who is a rock, except our God,
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The God who encircles me with strength
And makes my way blameless?
Judah Is Warned
14
Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you arrogant men
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem!
15
Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement,
When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us,
For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”
16 Therefore the Lord God says this,
“Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone,
A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not [a]be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].(A)
17
“I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the mason’s level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies
And waters will flood over the secret [hiding] place.
18
“Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol (the place of the dead) will not stand;
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
Then you will become its trampling ground.
19
“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;
For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night,
And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”
20
For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate].
21
For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon,
To do His work, His unusual and incredible work,
And to accomplish His work, His extraordinary work.(B)
22
Now do not carry on as scoffers,
Or the bands which bind you will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts [a decree]
Of decisive destruction on all the earth.
The Anointing in Bethany
6 Now when Jesus was [back] in Bethany, at the home of [a]Simon the leper,(A) 7 a [b]woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive [c]perfume and she poured it on Jesus’ head as He reclined at the table. 8 But when the [d]disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, “Why all this waste [of money]? 9 For this perfume might have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware [of the malice] of this [remark], said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a good thing to Me. 11 For you always have the poor with you; but you will not always have Me.(B) 12 When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion].”
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