Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O (E)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (H)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, and (K)the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O (M)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (Q)not be in want of any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [d](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)Many are the (AI)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (AJ)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will be [f]condemned.
5 The Lord [a]God of hosts,
The One who (A)touches the land so that it melts,
And (B)all those who dwell in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6 The One who builds His [b](C)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
He who (D)calls for the waters of the sea
And (E)pours them out on the face of the earth,
(F)The Lord is His name.
7 “Are you not as the sons of (G)Ethiopia to Me,
O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (H)Philistines from Caphtor and the (I)Arameans from (J)Kir?
8 “Behold, the (K)eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (L)destroy it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (M)not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (N)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a [c]kernel will fall to the ground.
10 “All the (O)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(P)The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’
The Restoration of Israel
11 “In that day I will (Q)raise up the fallen [d](R)booth of David,
And wall up its (S)breaches;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the (T)days of old;
12 (U)That they may possess the remnant of (V)Edom
And all the [e]nations who are (W)called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this.
13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When the (X)plowman will overtake the reaper
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
When the (Y)mountains will drip sweet (Z)wine
And all the hills will be dissolved.
14 “Also I will (AA)restore the [f]captivity of My people Israel,
And they will (AB)rebuild the ruined cities and live in them;
They will also (AC)plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 “I will also plant them on their land,
And (AD)they will not again be rooted out from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: (A)forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I (B)press on toward the goal for the prize of the (C)upward call of God in (D)Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are [a](E)perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a (F)different attitude, (G)God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep [b](H)living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, (I)join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the (J)pattern you have in us. 18 For (K)many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even (L)weeping, that they are enemies of (M)the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their [c](N)appetite, and whose (O)glory is in their shame, who (P)set their minds on earthly things. 20 For (Q)our [d]citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly (R)wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will (S)transform [e]the body of our humble state into (T)conformity with [f]the (U)body of His glory, (V)by the exertion of the power that He has even to (W)subject all things to Himself.
Think of Excellence
4 Therefore, my beloved brethren [g]whom I (X)long to see, my joy and crown, in this way (Y)stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
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