Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
19 How great is your favor,[a]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[b]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[c] in you.[d]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[e] of men;[f]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[g]
21 The Lord deserves praise[h]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[i]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[j]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[k]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[l] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[m]
24 Be strong and confident,[n]
all you who wait on the Lord.
The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation
30 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses[a] I have set before you, you will reflect upon them[b] in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 2 Then if you and your descendants[c] turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being[d] just as[e] I am commanding you today, 3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he[f] has scattered you. 4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land,[g] from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 Then he[h] will bring you to the land your ancestors[i] possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.
6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[a] 7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[b] 8 This means[c] it is not the children of the flesh[d] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise declared:[e] “About a year from now[f] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[g] 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,[h] our ancestor Isaac— 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election[i] would stand, not by works but by[j] his calling)[k]— 12 [l] it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[m] 13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[n]
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