Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: According to Jeduthun’s style. A Davidic Psalm.
A Psalm of Trust in God
62 My soul rests quietly only when it looks[a] to God;
from him comes my deliverance.
2 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower;
nothing will shake me.
3 How long will you rage against someone?
Would you attack him
as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
4 They plan to cast him down from his exalted position.
They delight in lies;
their mouth utters blessings,
while their heart is cursing.
5 My soul, be quiet before God,
for from him comes my hope.
6 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower;
nothing will shake me.
7 I rely on God who is my deliverance and my glory;
he is my strong rock,
and my refuge is in God.
8 People, in every situation put your trust in God;[b]
pour out your heart before him;
for God is a refuge for us.
9 Human beings[c] are a mere vapor,
while people in high positions[d] are not what they appear.
When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing;
even when weighed together, they are less than nothing.
10 Don’t trust in oppression
or put false hope in stealing;
if you become wealthy,
do not set your heart on it.
11 God spoke once,
but I heard it twice,
“Power belongs to God.”
12 Also to you, Lord, belongs gracious love,
because you reward each person according to what he does.
9 “From the time of Gibeah,
you have sinned, Israel;
There they took their stand;
the battle at Gibeah could not subdue the lawless.
10 When I’m ready, I will chasten them;
and the people will gather against them,
to imprison them for their two unrighteous acts.”[a]
Israel Urged to Sow in Righteousness
11 “Ephraim, the well-trained heifer,
loves to thresh grain,
so I will spare her neck.
I will turn Ephraim into a pack animal.
Judah will pull the plow,
and Jacob will turn up the fallow ground.
12 Sow in righteousness in your own interest,
reap in gracious love,
break up your own unprepared ground;
It is now time to inquire of[b] the Lord,
until he comes to pour out righteousness for you.
13 You have plowed[c] evil;
you have reaped unrighteousness;
you have eaten the fruit of hypocrisy;
because you trusted in your own direction,
and in the number of your mighty forces.
14 Therefore a disaster will come upon your people,
and all of your fortresses will be ruined.
As Shalman[d] destroyed Beth-arbel in wartime,
mothers were[e] dashed to pieces
along with their children.
15 The same will happen to you, Bethel,
because of your great evil—
early one morning the king of Israel will be totally silenced.”
Advice for Rich People
5 Now listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you. 2 Your riches are rotten, your clothes have been eaten by moths, 3 your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures in these last days. 4 Look! The wages that you kept back from the workers who harvested your fields are shouting out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 5 You have lived in luxury and pleasure on earth. You have fattened yourselves[a] for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the one who is righteous, even though he did not rebel against you.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.