Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 96(A)
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song;
sing unto the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing unto the Lord, bless His name;
declare His salvation from day to day.
3 Proclaim His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Give unto the Lord, O families of the people,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Indeed, the world is established; it shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field be joyful, and all that is in it;
then all the trees of the forests shall rejoice
13 before the Lord, for He comes,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.
Appointing a King
14 When you have come into the land which the Lord your God gives you and possess it and dwell there and then say, “I will set a king over me just like all the nations that are around me,” 15 you must set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. You must select a king over you who is from among your brothers. You may not select a foreigner over you who is not your countryman. 16 What is more, he shall not accumulate horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order that he accumulate horses, for as the Lord has said to you, “You must not go back that way ever again.” 17 He shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he acquire for himself excess silver and gold.
18 It must be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write a copy of this law for himself on a scroll before the priests, the Levites. 19 It must be with him, and he must read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, and do them, 20 that his heart will not be lifted up above his brothers and so that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, to the end, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Tending the Flock of God
5 I exhort the elders who are among you, as one who is also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. 3 Do not lord over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will not fade away.
5 Likewise you younger ones, submit yourselves to the elders. Yes, all of you be submissive one to another and clothe yourselves with humility, because
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[a]
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.