Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁰ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater:

¹¹ So shall my Word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall be prospered in that for which I sent it.

¹² For ye shall go out with joy, and be returned with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an eternal sign that shall not be cut off.

To the Overcomer, A Psalm and Song of David.

¹ ¶ Praise doth rest in thee, O God, in Sion and unto thee shall the vow be performed.

² O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

³ Words of iniquity overwhelmed me, but thou shalt purge away our rebellion.

⁴ Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose and cause to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy temple.

⁵ With tremendous things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our saving health, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those that are afar off upon the sea:

⁶ ¶ Thou art he who doth establish the mountains by thy strength, being girded with valour:

⁷ He who stills the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves and the tumult of the Gentiles.

⁸ They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy wonders; thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.

⁹ Thou dost visit the earth, and when thou hast caused it to want, thou dost greatly enrich it with the river of God, which is full of water; thou dost prepare their grain, according to thy will.

¹⁰ Thou dost water its rows abundantly; thou dost settle its furrows; thou dost make it soft with showers of rain; thou dost bless its sprouting.

¹¹ Thou dost crown the year with thy goodness, and thy clouds distill fatness.

¹² They fall upon the habitations of the wilderness; and the hills gird themselves with happiness.

¹³ The plains clothe themselves with sheep, and the valleys cover themselves with grain; they give shouts of triumph, they even sing.

8 ¶ So that now, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death.

³ For that which was impossible to the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

⁴ that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

⁵ For those that are according to the flesh know the things that are of the flesh; but those that are according to the Spirit, the things that are of the Spirit.

⁶ For the prudence of the flesh is death, but the prudence of the Spirit, life and peace,

⁷ because the prudence of the flesh is enmity against God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, neither indeed can it.

⁸ So then, those that are carnal cannot please God.

⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person is not of him.

¹⁰ ¶ But if Christ is in you, the body is truly dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.

¹¹ And if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up the Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.

13 ¶ The same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea side.

² And a great multitude was gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow;

⁴ and when he sowed, some of the seed fell beside the way, and the fowls came and devoured them up.

⁵ Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up because they had no deepness of earth;

⁶ and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

⁸ But some fell into good ground and brought forth fruit: one a hundredfold and another sixtyfold and another thirtyfold.

He

⁹ who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁸ Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who was planted beside the way.

²⁰ But he that was planted in stony places, the same is he that hears the word and receives it immediately with joy;

²¹ yet he has no root in himself but is temporal, for when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended.

²² And he that was planted among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³ But he that was planted in good ground is he that hears the word and understands it and who also bears the fruit and brings forth: one a hundredfold and another sixty and another thirty.