Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [a]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, how (A)my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [b]of my soul,
“There is no [c](B)deliverance for him in God.” [d]Selah.
3 But You, O Lord, are (C)a shield about me,
My (D)glory, and the One who (E)lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He (F)answered me from (G)His holy [e]mountain. Selah.
5 [f]I (H)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (I)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (J)set themselves against me round about.
5 “(A)Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! (B)Wonder!
Because I am doing (C)something in your days—
You would not believe if [a]you were told.
6 “For behold, I am (D)raising up the Chaldeans,
That [b]fierce and impetuous people
Who march [c]throughout the earth
To [d](E)seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and (F)feared;
Their (G)justice and [e]authority [f]originate with themselves.
8 “Their (H)horses are swifter than leopards
And [g]keener than (I)wolves in the evening.
Their [h]horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (J)eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
[i]Their horde of (K)faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They (L)mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They (M)laugh at every fortress
And (N)heap up rubble to capture it.
11 “Then they will sweep through like the (O)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (P)guilty,
They whose (Q)strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from (R)everlasting,
O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Lord, have (S)appointed them to judge;
And You, O (T)Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too (U)pure to [j]approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You (V)look with favor
On those who deal (W)treacherously?
Why are You (X)silent when the wicked (Y)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (Z)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AA)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [k]burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through (AB)these things their [l]catch is [m]large,
And their food is [n]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AC)net
And continually (AD)slay nations without sparing?
2 (A)Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter (B)various [a]trials, 3 knowing that (C)the testing of your (D)faith produces [b](E)endurance. 4 And let [c](F)endurance have its perfect [d]result, so that you may be [e](G)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you (H)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [f]without reproach, and (I)it will be given to him. 6 But he must (J)ask in faith (K)without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, (L)driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a [g](M)double-minded man, (N)unstable in all his ways.
9 (O)But the [h]brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because (P)like [i]flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with [j](Q)a scorching wind and (R)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.