Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Vindication and Protection
A prayer of David.[a]
17 O Yahweh, hear a just cause.
Hear my cry; heed my prayer
I make without deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from you;
let your eyes see fairness.
3 You have tried my heart;
you have examined me by night;
you have tested me; you found nothing.
I have decided that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the works of humankind,
by the word of your lips,
I have kept from the ways of the violent.
5 I have held my steps in your path
My feet will not slip.
6 As for me, I have called on you
because you will answer me, O God.
Incline your ear to me.
Hear my words.[b]
7 Show wondrously your acts of loyal love,
O Savior of those who take refuge
at your right hand[c]
from those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye.[d]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the presence[e] of the wicked who destroy me,
those enemies against my life,
they that surround me.
10 They have shut off their calloused[f] heart;
with their mouth they speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround us at our every step.
They intend[g]
to pin[h] me to the ground.
12 He is like[i] a lion; he longs to tear apart,
and like a strong lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Rise up, O Yahweh, confront him.[j]
Make him bow down.
Rescue with your sword my life from the wicked,
14 from men by your hand, O Yahweh, from men of this world.
Their share is in this life,[k] and you fill their stomach with your treasure.
They are satisfied with children.
They bequeath their excess to their children.
15 By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face.
Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.
The One Who Trusts in Humankind Contrasted With the One Who Trusts in Yahweh
5 Thus says Yahweh,
“Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind
and makes flesh his strength,[a]
and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.
6 And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,[b]
and he will not see when good comes,
and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,[c]
in a land of salt flats,[d] where no one lives.
7 Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh,
and Yahweh is his trust.
8 For he will be like a tree planted by water,
and to the stream it sends its roots,
and it will not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves[e] will be luxuriant,
and in the year of drought it will not be anxious,
and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful more than anything else,
and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?
10 I, Yahweh, examine the mind,[f]
I test the heart,[g]
and give to each one according to his way,
according to the fruit of his deeds.
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
is one who amasses wealth without justice.
In the middle of his days it will leave him,
and at his end he will prove to be a fool.”
The Fountain of Living Water
12 A lofty throne of glory from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Yahweh, the hope of Israel,
all those who forsake you will be put to shame,
and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded,
for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.
14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed,
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 Look, they are saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Please let it come.”
16 But I, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows you,[h]
and I have not desired the disastrous day.
You, you know the pronouncement of my lips,
it was before your face.
17 You must not become to me a terror,
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but as for me,[i] do not let me be put to shame.
Let them be dismayed,
but as for me,[j] do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
and with double destruction, destroy them.
A House Divided Cannot Stand
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him. And he healed him so that the man who was mute could speak and see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and began saying, “Perhaps this one is the Son of David!” 24 But the Pharisees, when they[a] heard it,[b] said, “This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!” 25 But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 And if Satan expels Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them?[c] For this reason they will be your judges! 28 But if I expel demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! 29 Or how can someone enter into the house of a strong man and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 30 The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters. 31 For this reason I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven! 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, 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 coming one!
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