Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death

16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” ³ As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. ⁴ Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. ⁶ The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.

⁷ I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. ⁸ I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. ⁹ And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. ¹⁰ For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. ¹¹ You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

Daniel Tells the Meaning of the Second Dream

¹⁹ “Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was afraid for a while. His thoughts filled him with fear. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not be afraid of the dream or its meaning.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, if only the dream and its meaning had to do with those who hate you and fight against you! ²⁰ You saw the tree which grew large and strong, whose top went up to the sky and could be seen over all the earth. ²¹ Its leaves were beautiful and it had much fruit, enough food for all. Wild animals of the field rested under it, and birds of the air lived in its branches. ²² This tree is you, O king! For you have become great and strong. Your power has become great and has gone up to the sky, and your rule has gone to the end of the earth. ²³ The king saw an angel who kept watch, a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it. Yet leave its base with its roots in the ground. Put a chain of iron and brass around it and leave it in the new grass of the field. And let him be wet with the water from heaven on the grass in the early morning. Let him share with the wild animals of the field for seven years.” ²⁴ This is what it means, O king. This is what the Most High said would happen to my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from all people and will live with the wild animals of the field. You will eat grass like cattle and become wet with the water from heaven. Seven years will pass until you understand that the Most High is ruler over the nations of men, and gives them to whomever He wants. ²⁶ It was said that the base of the tree and its roots must be left. This means that your nation will be returned to you after you understand that it is Heaven that rules. ²⁷ So, O king, may my words be pleasing to you. Turn away from your sins by doing what is right and good. Turn away from your wrong-doing by being kind to the poor. Then it may be that things will keep going well for you.’

⁶ As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. ⁷ Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.

Wisdom of the World Is Empty

⁸ Be careful that no one changes your mind and faith by much learning and big sounding ideas. Those things are what men dream up. They are always trying to make new religions. These leave out Christ. ⁹ For Christ is not only God-like, He is God in human flesh. ¹⁰ When you have Christ, you are complete. He is the head over all leaders and powers. ¹¹ When you became a Christian, you were set free from the sinful things of the world. This was not done by human hands. You were set free from the sins of your old self by what was done in Christ’s body. ¹² When you were baptized, you were buried as Christ was buried. When you were raised up in baptism, you were raised as Christ was raised. You were raised to a new life by putting your trust in God. It was God Who raised Jesus from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins, you were not set free from the sinful things of the world. But God forgave your sins and gave you new life through Christ. ¹⁴ We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ God took away the power of the leaders of this world and the powers of darkness. He showed them to the world. The battle was won over them through Christ.