Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption
A Psalm of David.
26 Vindicate (A)me, O Lord,
For I have (B)walked in my integrity.
(C)I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
2 (D)Examine me, O Lord, and [a]prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And (E)I have walked in Your truth.
4 I have not (F)sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
5 I have (G)hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.
13 (A)Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you [a]assured (B)peace in this place.’ ”
14 And the Lord said to me, (C)“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. (D)I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, [b]divination, a worthless thing, and the (E)deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, (F)and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; (G)they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:
(H)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
(I)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to (J)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and (K)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
Walk in Love
5 Therefore(A) be imitators of God as dear (B)children. 2 And (C)walk in love, (D)as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God (E)for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all (F)uncleanness or (G)covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 (H)neither filthiness, nor (I)foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, (J)which are not fitting, but rather (K)giving of thanks. 5 For [a]this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any (L)inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.