Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 31[a]
Prayer in Distress and Thanksgiving for Escape
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 In you, Lord, I take refuge;(A)
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me;
3 incline your ear to me;
make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to save me.
4 For you are my rock and my fortress;(B)
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
5 Free me from the net they have set for me,
for you are my refuge.
19 Strike dumb their lying lips,
which speak arrogantly against the righteous
in contempt and scorn.(A)
III
20 How great is your goodness, Lord,
stored up for those who fear you.
You display it for those who trust you,
in the sight of the children of Adam.
21 You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from scheming enemies.
You conceal them in your tent,
away from the strife of tongues.(B)
22 Blessed be the Lord,
marvelously he showed to me
his mercy in a fortified city.
23 Though I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your eyes.”(C)
Yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy,
when I pleaded with you for help.
24 Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him.
The Lord protects the loyal,
but repays the arrogant in full.
Chapter 30
Compassion for the Repentant. 1 [a](A)When all these things, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, come upon you,(B) and you take them to heart in any of the nations where the Lord, your God, has dispersed you, 2 (C)and return to the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, according to all that I am commanding you today, you and your children, with your whole heart and your whole being, 3 the Lord, your God, will restore your fortunes and will have compassion on you; he will again gather you from all the peoples where the Lord, your God, has scattered you. 4 Though you may have been dispersed to the farthest corner of the heavens, even from there will the Lord, your God, gather you; even from there will he bring you back.(D) 5 The Lord, your God, will then bring you into the land your ancestors once possessed, that you may possess it; and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.(E)
God’s Free Choice. 6 But it is not that the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel,(A) 7 nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.”(B) 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants.(C) 9 For this is the wording of the promise, “About this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son.”(D) 10 And not only that,(E) but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one husband, our father Isaac[a]— 11 before they had yet been born or had done anything, good or bad, in order that God’s elective plan might continue, 12 not by works but by his call—she was told, “The older shall serve the younger.”(F) 13 As it is written:(G)
“I loved Jacob
but hated Esau.”[b]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.