Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 89[a]
Prayer for the Fulfillment of God’s Promise
1 A maskil[b] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
2 [c]I will sing forever of the Lord’s kindness;
with my lips I will proclaim your faithfulness[d]
throughout the generations.
3 You said, “My kindness lasts forever;
my faithfulness is as firmly established as the heavens.
4 “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:
5 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and allow your throne to endure for all generations.’ ”[e] Selah
6 [f]Let the heavens[g] praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of your holy ones.
7 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Is there any heavenly being[h] who is like the Lord,
8 a God who is feared in the council of the holy ones,
greater and more awesome than any who stand in his presence?
9 O Lord, God of hosts,[i] who is like you?
Almighty Lord, your faithfulness is never absent.
10 You control the raging sea,
calming its surging waves.
11 You crushed Rahab[j] with a deadly blow;
you scattered your foes with your mighty arm.
12 Yours are the heavens and yours is the earth;
you founded the world[k] and all that is in it.
13 You created the north and the south;[l]
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
14 Mighty is your arm and strong is your hand;
your right hand is forever raised high.
15 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
kindness and faithfulness go before your face.[m]
16 Blessed[n] are the people who know how to acclaim you, O Lord,
who walk in the light of your countenance.
17 In your name they rejoice all day long,
and they exult in your righteousness.
18 [o]You are the strength in which they glory,
and by your kindness our horn[p] is exalted.
14 [a]The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise of blessings I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 In those days and at that time
I will cause a righteous branch
to spring up from the line of David
he will do what is just and upright in the land,
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which the city will be called:
“The Lord Our Righteousness.”
17 For thus says the Lord: Never will David lack a male descendant to succeed to the throne of the house of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have available one of their number to stand before me to present burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to offer sacrifices each day.
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 Thus says the Lord: If you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that day and night would no longer occur at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with my servant David could also be broken so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levites who minister as priests to me could also be broken. 22 Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be counted, so I will increase the descendants of my servant David and of the Levites who minister to me.
23 This word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 Have you not noticed what these people say, “The two families that were chosen by the Lord have been rejected by him”? As a result, they look upon my people with such contempt that they no longer regard them as a nation.
25 Thus says the Lord: If I had not established my covenant with day and night and fixed the laws governing heaven and earth, 26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David and not choose any of David’s descendants to serve as rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have mercy upon them.
41 The Parable of the Faithful Servant.[a] Then Peter asked, “Lord, are you directing this parable to us or do you mean it for everyone?” 42 The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward whom his master will put in charge of his household to give its members their allotment of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant if his master finds him doing so when he arrives home. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
45 “But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is detained in arriving,’ and he proceeds to beat the menservants and the maids, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will punish him and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47 “The servant who knew his master’s wishes but did not get ready or do what his master wanted will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know those wishes, and who acted in such a manner as to deserve a beating, will be beaten less severely. Much will be demanded of a person to whom much has been given, and even more will be asked of a person to whom more has been entrusted.
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