Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Praise for the Lord’s Deliverance
21 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How greatly he rejoices in your deliverance.
2 You have granted him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld what his lips requested.
3 You go before him with wonderful blessings,
and put a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life from you, and you gave it to him—
a long life for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great because of your deliverance,
you have given him honor and majesty.
6 Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings;
you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 The king trusts in the Lord;
because of the gracious love of the Most High,
he will stand firm.[a]
8 Your hand will find all your enemies,
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace.
In his wrath, the Lord will consume them,
and the fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants[b] from the earth,
even their offspring from the ranks[c] of mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise schemes,
they will not succeed.
12 Indeed, you will make them retreat,[d]
when you aim your bow[e] at their faces.
13 Rise up, Lord, because you are strong;
we will sing and praise your power.
14 Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob,
and[a] you insects of Israel!
I myself will help you,’[b] declares the Lord,
your[c] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
A Promise of Victory
15 “See, I’m making you[d] into
a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge.
You’ll thresh and crush the mountains,
and make the hills like chaff.
16 You’ll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up,
and a tempest will blow them away.
Then you’ll rejoice in the Lord,
and[e] you’ll make your boast in the Holy One of Israel.”
17 “As for the poor, the needy, those seeking[f] water—
when there is none
and their tongues are parched from thirst—
I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I’ll turn the[g] desert into a pool of water,
and the parched land into springs of water.
19 I’ll put cedar trees in the wilderness,
along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I’ll plant cypresses in the desert—
box[h] trees, and pine trees together—
20 all so that people may see and recognize,
perceive,[i] consider, and comprehend at the same time,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Paul’s Desire to Take the Gospel to the Whole World
14 I myself am convinced,[a] my brothers, that you yourselves are filled with goodness and full of all the knowledge you need to be able to instruct each other. 15 However, on some points I have written to you rather boldly, both as a reminder to you and because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of the Messiah[b] Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering brought by gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore, in the Messiah[c] Jesus I have the right to boast about my work for God. 18 For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah[d] has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit,[e] I have fully proclaimed the gospel of the Messiah[f] from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. 20 My one ambition is to proclaim the gospel where the name of the Messiah[g] is not known, so I don’t[h] build on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written,
“Those who were never told about him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”[i]
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