Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 63
A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O Elohim, you are my Elohim.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you
in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
2 So I look for you in the holy place
to see your power and your glory.
3 My lips will praise you
because your mercy is better than life itself.
4 So I will thank you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands to pray in your name.
5 You satisfy my soul with the richest foods.
My mouth will sing your praise with joyful lips.
6 As I lie on my bed, I remember you.
Through the long hours of the night, I think about you.
7 You have been my help.
In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand supports me.
9 But those who try to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be cut down by swords.
Their dead bodies will be left as food for jackals.
11 But the king will find joy in Elohim.
Everyone who takes an oath by Elohim will brag,
but the mouths of liars will be shut.
7 Yahweh has sworn an oath by Jacob’s pride:
“I will never forget anything that they have done.”
8 The land will tremble because of this.
Everyone who lives in it will mourn.
The entire land will rise like the Nile,
be tossed about, and then sink like Egypt’s river.
9 On that day, declares Adonay Yahweh,
I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your festivals into funerals
and all your songs into funeral songs.
I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist
and shave everyone’s head.
I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child,
and its end will be bitter.
11 The days are going to come, declares Adonay Yahweh,
when I will send a famine throughout the land.
It won’t be an ordinary famine or drought.
Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of Yahweh.
12 People will wander from sea to sea
and roam from the north to the east,
searching for the word of Yahweh.
But they won’t find it.
13 On that day beautiful young women and strong young men
will faint because of their thirst.
14 How horrible it will be for those who swear by Ashimah,[a]
the idol of Samaria, and say,
“I solemnly swear, Dan, as your god lives. . . .”
“I solemnly swear as long as there is a road to Beersheba. . . .”
Those who say this will fall and never get up again.
20 Brothers and sisters, don’t think like children. When it comes to evil, be like babies, but think like mature people. 21 God’s word says,
“Through people who speak foreign languages
and through the mouths of foreigners
I will speak to these people,
but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”
22 So the gift of speaking in other languages is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers. The gift of speaking what God has revealed is a sign for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 Suppose the whole congregation gathers in the same place and you speak in other languages. When outsiders or unbelievers come in, won’t they say that you’re out of your mind? 24 Now suppose you speak what God has revealed. When unbelievers or outsiders come in you will show them where they are wrong and convince them that they are sinners. 25 The secrets in their hearts will become known, and in this way they will quickly bow with their faces touching the ground, worship God, and confess that God is truly among you.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.