Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
(A)You have [a]tried me and have found [b]nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not (B)transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 (C)Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 (D)I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who [c]save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the [d]apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their (E)fat hearts;
With their mouths they (F)speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
5 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes (B)flesh his [a]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be (C)like a shrub in the desert,
And (D)shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
(E)In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed(F) is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be (G)like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not [b]fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The (H)heart is deceitful above all things,
And [c]desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, (I)search the heart,
I test the [d]mind,
(J)Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that [e]broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It (K)will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be (L)a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, (M)the hope of Israel,
(N)All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be (O)written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The (P)fountain of living waters.”
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For (Q)You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
(R)“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, (S)I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
(T)You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 (U)Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But (V)do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And (W)destroy[f] them with double destruction!
A House Divided Cannot Stand(A)
22 (B)Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the [a]blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the (C)Son of David?”
24 (D)Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by [b]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus (E)knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, (F)surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 (G)Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
The Unpardonable Sin(H)
31 “Therefore I say to you, (I)every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, (J)but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who (K)speaks a word against the Son of Man, (L)it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.