Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about (A)when [a]they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will (B)serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and [b]senseless people,
Who have (C)eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 ‘Do you not (D)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have (E)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23 ‘But this people has a (F)stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24 ‘They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who (G)gives rain in its season,
Both (H)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The (I)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 ‘Your (J)iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They (K)watch like fowlers [c]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of (L)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 ‘They are (M)fat, they are sleek,
They also [d]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [e](N)orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not [f]defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘(O)Shall I not punish [g]these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
13 For this reason we also constantly (A)thank God that when you received the (B)word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it (C)not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, (D)which also performs its work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became (E)imitators of (F)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are (G)in Judea, for (H)you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, (I)even as they did from the Jews, 15 (J)who both killed the Lord Jesus and (K)the prophets, and [a]drove us out. [b]They are not pleasing to God, [c]but hostile to all men, 16 (L)hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles (M)so that they may be saved; with the result that they always (N)fill up the measure of their sins. But (O)wrath has come upon them [d]to the utmost.
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a [e]short while—(P)in [f]person, not in [g]spirit—were all the more eager with great desire (Q)to see your face. 18 [h]For (R)we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, [i](S)more than once—and yet (T)Satan (U)hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or (V)joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His [j](W)coming? 20 For you are (X)our glory and joy.
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