Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁹ But be Thou not far from Me, O Lord; O My Strength, hasten Thee to help Me!

²⁰ Deliver My soul from the sword, My only one from the power of the dog.

²¹ Save Me from the lion’s mouth; for Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the unicorns.

²² I will declare Thy name unto My brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.

²³ Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him! All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel.

²⁴ For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from Him, but when He cried unto Him, He heard.

²⁵ My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation; I will pay My vows before them that fear Him.

²⁶ The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek Him. Your heart shall live for ever.

²⁷ All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.

²⁸ For the kingdom is the Lord’S, and He is the governor among the nations.

57 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

² He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

³ “But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

⁴ Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom make ye a wide mouth and draw out the tongue? Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

⁵ inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶ Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot. Even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?

⁷ Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed; even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

⁸ Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance; for thou hast uncovered thyself to another than Me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

⁹ And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

¹⁰ Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, ‘There is no hope.’ Thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.

¹¹ “And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered Me, nor laid it to thy heart? Have not I held My peace even of old, and thou fearest Me not?

¹² I will declare thy righteousness and thy works, for they shall not profit thee.

¹³ When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them. But he that putteth his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain,

¹⁵ Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: A covenant, though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no man annulleth or addeth thereto.

¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, “and to seeds,” as though many; but as though one: “and to thy Seed,” who is Christ.

¹⁷ And this I say, that the Covenant which was confirmed earlier by God in Christ cannot be annulled by the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, so as to make the promise of no effect.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

¹⁹ For what then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and itwas ordained by angels through the hand of a mediator.

²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should then have come by the law.

²² But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.