Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David; when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You;
My [a]soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.(A)
3
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4
So will I bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5
My [b]soul [my life, my very self] is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises [to You] with joyful lips.
6
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,
7
For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings [where I am always protected] I sing for joy.
8
My [c]soul [my life, my very self] clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek my life to destroy it
Will [be destroyed and] go into the depths of the earth [into the underworld].
10
They will be given over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
11
But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him [honoring the true God, acknowledging His authority and majesty] will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
9
Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations:
Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men!
Let all the men of war come near, let them come up!
10
Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am strong!”(A)
11
Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there;
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones (Your warriors).
12
Let the nations be stirred [to action]
And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge and punish
All the surrounding nations.
13
Put in the sickle [of judgment], for the harvest is ripe;
Come, tread [the grapes], for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for the wickedness [of the people] is great.(B)
14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed].(C)
15
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16
The Lord thunders and roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies],
And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder;
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel.(D)
17
Then you will know and understand fully that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers [who do not belong] will no longer pass through it.
Judah Will Be Blessed
18
And in that day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine
And the hills will flow with milk;
And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water,
And a fountain will go out from the house of the Lord
To water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.(E)
19
Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of their violence against the children of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.(F)
20
But Judah shall be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21
And I shall avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.
The Glorious Return
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.(A) 30 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].(B) 31 And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.(C)
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;(D) 33 so you, too, when you see all [a]these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right [b]at the door. 34 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
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