Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 46[a]
God, Refuge of His People
1 For the director.[b] A song of the sons of Korah. According to alamoth.
2 [c]God is our refuge and our strength,
a well-proved help in times of trouble.[d]
3 Therefore, we will not be afraid, though the earth be shaken
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
4 though its waters rage and seethe
and the mountains tremble at the upheaval.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.[e] Selah
5 There is a river[f] whose streams bring joy to the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
6 God is in her midst; she will not be overcome;
God will help her at break of dawn.[g]
7 The nations are in tumult and kingdoms fall;
when he raises his voice,[h] the earth melts away.
8 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
9 Come and behold the works of the Lord,
the astonishing deeds he has wrought on the earth.
10 He puts an end to wars all over the earth;
he breaks the bow and snaps the spear,
and he burns the shields with flames.[i]
11 “Be still and acknowledge that I am God,
exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.”[j]
12 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
12 The messenger who had been sent to summon Micaiah said to him: “Listen to what I am telling you. What the prophets have said is favorable to the king. I trust that you will also deliver a favorable decision.” 13 However, Micaiah replied: “As the Lord lives, I can announce only what the Lord instructs me to say.”
14 When the prophet arrived, the king asked him: “Micaiah, shall we go up to attack Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” Micaiah replied: “Attack and triumph. They will be delivered into your hands.” 15 However, the king said to him: “How many times must I demand that you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
16 Then Micaiah said:
“I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains,
like sheep without a shepherd.
And I heard the Lord say: ‘These have no master;
let each one go home in peace.’ ”
17 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only whatever is unfavorable?”
18 However, Micaiah continued: “Listen now to the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord seated on his throne with all the host of heaven sitting to his right and to his left. 19 The Lord asked: ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing and another said something in contradiction, 20 until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying: ‘I will entice him.’ ‘How?’ asked the Lord.
21 “The spirit replied: ‘I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord said: ‘You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do it.’ 22 So now you will see that the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these your prophets. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”[a]
23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves required still greater sacrifices.
24 Once and for All.[a] For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it his purpose to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own. 26 For then he would have had to suffer over and over again since the creation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once and for all at the end of the ages to abolish sin by sacrificing himself.
27 And just as human beings are destined to die but once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.
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