Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 21
The King’s Victory
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, the king finds joy in Your strength.
How greatly he rejoices in Your victory!(A)
2 You have given him his heart’s desire(B)
and have not denied the request of his lips.(C)
3 For You meet him with rich blessings;
You place a crown of pure gold on his head.(D)
4 He asked You for life, and You gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.(E)
5 His glory is great through Your victory;
You confer majesty and splendor on him.(F)
6 You give him blessings forever;(G)
You cheer him with joy in Your presence.(H)
7 For the king relies on the Lord;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.(I)
8 Your hand will capture all your enemies;
your right hand will seize those who hate you.(J)
9 You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the Lord will engulf them in His wrath,
and fire will devour them.(K)
10 You will wipe their descendants from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.(L)
11 Though they intend to harm[a] you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.(M)
12 Instead, you will put them to flight
when you aim your bow[b] at their faces.(N)
13 Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength;
we will sing and praise Your might.(O)
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 After these events, the word of the Lord came(A) to Abram in a vision:
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”[a] 3 Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in[b] my house will be my heir.”
4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body[c] will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”(D)
6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.(E)
7 He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”(F)
8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I know(G) that I will possess it?”
9 He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.(H) 11 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep(I) fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram,(J) “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners(K) in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed[d] 400 years.(L) 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve,(M) and afterward they will go out with many possessions.(N) 15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.(O) 16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”[e](P)
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,(Q) from the brook of Egypt(R) to the Euphrates River:[f]
A Tree and Its Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad[a] and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.(A) 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow(B) of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good,[b] and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.(C) 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment(D) people will have to account(E) for every careless word they speak.[c] 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
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