Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: To the tune of[a] “Do not Destroy!”
A psalm of Asaph. A song.
Praise to God for Justice
75 We praise you, God!
We praise you[b]—your presence[c] draws near—
as we declare your wonderful deeds.
2 “At the time that I choose
I will judge the righteous.[d]
3 While the earth and all its inhabitants melt away,
it is I who keep its pillars firm.”
4 I will say to the proud, “Don’t brag,”
and to the wicked,
“Don’t vaunt your strength.[e]
5 Don’t use your strength to fight heaven[f]
or speak from stubborn arrogance.”[g]
6 For exaltation comes not from the east,
the west, or the wilderness,
7 since God is the judge.
This one he will debase or that one he will exalt.
8 For there is a cup in the hand of the Lord,
foaming with well-mixed wine
that he will pour out, leaving only the dregs,
from which all the wicked of the earth will drink.
The Lord’s Rebuke to Jerusalem
3 Woe to this filthy, polluted, and oppressive city!
2 It won’t obey anyone.[a]
It won’t accept discipline.
It does not trust in the Lord.
It does not approach God.
3 Its national officials[b] are roaring lions;
its judges are like wolves of the night
that don’t leave the bones for the morning.
4 Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous.
Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary.
They give perverse interpretations of the Law.[c]
5 The righteous Lord who lives[d] within her will do no wrong;
he will bring justice to light morning by morning.
He never fails,
but the unjust are shameless.
The Integrity of God’s Justice
6 “I have destroyed[e] nations—
their fortifications are deserted.
I have turned their main thoroughfares into wastelands
where no one will travel.
Their cities are desolate;
as a result, not one man remains—
no, not even a single resident.
7 I have said, ‘If only you would fear me,
if only you would take my instructions to heart.’
Then their houses would not have been torn down.
I have chastened them,
but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing.”
The Future Deliverance of Israel
8 “Just you wait!” declares the Lord.
“The day will come when I stand up as a prosecutor,[f]
for I am determined to assemble the nations
and to gather the kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation upon them—
all of my fierce anger.
All the earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.
9 Indeed, then I will return my people to a pure language[g]
so that they all may call upon the name of the Lord,
serving him with a united will.[h]
10 “From beyond the rivers of Sudan[i] my worshipers[j]—
including my dispersed people—
will present offerings to me.
11 When this happens,[k] you will not be ashamed of your actions
by which you sinned against me,
because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride.
Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.
12 I will keep a humble and gentle people among you,
and they will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The survivors of Israel will not practice lawlessness
nor tell lies,
nor will a deceitful message be found in their mouths,
because they will eat and rest,
with no one to cause fear.”
You are Children of a Free Woman
21 Tell me, those of you who want to live under the Law: Are you really listening to what the Law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. 23 Now the slave woman’s son was conceived through human means, while the free woman’s son was conceived through divine[a] promise. 24 This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother.[b] 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, you childless woman,
who cannot give birth to any children!
Break into song and shout,
you who feel no pains of childbirth!
For the children of the deserted woman
are more numerous than the children
of the woman who has a husband.”[c]
28 So you,[d] brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. 29 But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.”[e] 31 So then, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
Live in the Freedom that the Messiah Provides
5 The Messiah[f] has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom.[g] So keep on standing firm in it, and stop putting yourselves under the yoke of slavery again.
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