Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, I cry unto You; make haste to me;
give ear to my voice, when I cry unto You.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil,
to practice wicked deeds
with men who do iniquity,
and do not let me eat of their delights.
5 Let the righteous man strike me;
it shall be a kindness.
Let him rebuke me;
it shall be oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
For my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown to stony places,
then they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 As when one plows to break up the land,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are unto You, O God my Lord,
in You is my trust; do not leave my soul defenseless.
9 Keep me from the snares that they have laid for me,
and the traps of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by and escape.
21 I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. 23 The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity because they trespassed against Me, and I hid My face from them. And I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions, I have done to them and hid My face from them.
The Restoration of Israel
25 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel and will be jealous for My holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against Me when they lived safely in their land and no one made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God who caused them to be led into captivity among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land and have left none of them there anymore. 29 Nor will I hide My face from them anymore. For I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God.
The Vision of the New Temple
40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, on that very day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. 2 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me upon a very high mountain, on which was as the frame of a city on the south. 3 He brought me there, and there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand. And he stood in the gate. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you. For you have been brought here to show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
Do All to the Glory of God
23 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.
25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no question for the sake of conscience, 26 for “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[a]
27 If any of those who do not believe invite you to a feast, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for the sake of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered in sacrifice to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of him that mentioned it and for the sake of conscience, for “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[b] 29 Conscience, I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
31 Therefore, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
11 Follow me as I follow Christ.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.