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.
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 Some time later, a message came from the Lord to Abram in a vision. “Stop being afraid, Abram.” he said. “I myself—your shield—am your very great reward.”
2 But Abram replied, “Lord God, what can you give me since I continue to be childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer from Damascus? 3 Look!” Abram said, “You haven’t given me any offspring, so a servant born in[a] my house is going to be my heir.”
4 A message came from the Lord to him again: “This one will not be your heir. Instead, the child who will be born to you[b] will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord[c] took him outside. “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if you can!” he said. “Your descendants will be that numerous.”[d] 6 Abram believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
7 The Lord[e] spoke to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.”
8 But he replied, “Lord God, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9 The Lord responded, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So Abram brought him all these animals and cut each of them in half, down the middle, placing the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun began to set, Abram was overcome with deep sleep, and suddenly a frightening and terrifying darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord told Abram, “You can be certain about this: Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that isn’t theirs. They will be slaves there and will be oppressed for 400 years. 14 However, I will judge the nation that they serve, and later they will leave there with many possessions. 15 Now as for you, you’ll die peacefully, join your ancestors, and be buried at a good old age. 16 Your descendants[f] will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course.”
17 When the sun had fully set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a fiery torch passed between the animal pieces.[g] 18 That very day the Lord made this covenant with Abram: “I’m giving[h] this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—
A Tree is Known by Its Fruit(A)
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, because a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart. 35 A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house. 36 I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless[a] word they have uttered, 37 because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.