Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2
Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.
3
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4
In whose hand are the depths of the earth;
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5
The sea is His, for He made it [by His command];
And His hands formed the dry land.(A)
6
O come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer].
7
For He is our God
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice,(B)
God’s Covenant with David
17 As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” 2 Then Nathan said to David, “[a]Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
3 But it came about that same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; 5 for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought Israel up [from Egypt] until this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. 6 Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I say a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’ 7 Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make your name like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be moved again [nor tremble with fear]; and the [b]wicked will not waste (persecute) them anymore, as formerly, 10 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will humble and subdue all your enemies.
“Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house (a blessed posterity). 11 And it shall come to pass that when your days are completed and you must go to be with your fathers [in death], I will raise up one of your descendants after you, one of your own sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.(A) 13 I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My steadfast love and mercy away from him, as I took it from him (King Saul) who was before you.(B) 14 But I will settle [c]him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forevermore.”’”(C) 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
The Perfect Life
22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),(A) 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.(B) 3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];(C) 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.(D) 5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.(E)
You Are Invited to be Blessed
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll).”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.