Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Futility of Boastful Wickedness.
To the Chief Musician. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2
Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3
You love evil more than good,
And falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.
4
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down forever;
He will take you away and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.
6
The righteous will see it and fear,
And will [scoffingly] laugh, saying,
7
“Look, [this is] the man who would not make God his strength [his stronghold and fortress],
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
Taking refuge in his wealth.”
8
But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust [confidently] in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
9
I will thank You forever, because You have done it, [You have rescued me and kept me safe].
I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and for their judges and for their officers; they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, lived beyond the [Euphrates] River in ancient times; and they served other gods.
11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite; and so I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet [that is, the terror of you] before you, which drove the two kings of the Amorites out before you; but it was not by your sword or by your bow.(A) 13 I gave you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you live in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered, “Far be it from us to abandon (reject) the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs (miracles) in our sight and kept us safe all along the way that we went and among all the peoples among whom we passed. 18 The Lord drove all the peoples out from before us, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a [a]jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins. 20 If you do abandon (reject) the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume and destroy you after He has done you good.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve [only] the Lord.” 22 Joshua then said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now then, remove the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your hearts toward the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will listen to and obey His voice.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in [the courtyard of] the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua then said to all the people, “Look, this stone shall serve as a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that [afterward] you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to [the territory of] his inheritance.
9 Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power. 10 As it is written and forever remains written,
“There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.(A)
11
“There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God.(B)
12
“All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”(C)
13
“Their throat is an open grave;
They [habitually] deceive with their tongues.”
“The venom of asps is beneath their lips.”(D)
14
“Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”(E)
15
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17
And they have not known the path of peace.”(F)
18
“There is no fear of God [and His awesome power] before their eyes.”(G)
19 Now we know that whatever the Law [of Moses] says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the excuses of] every mouth may be silenced [from protesting] and that all the world may be held accountable to God [and subject to His judgment]. 20 For no [a]person will be justified [freed of guilt and declared righteous] in His sight by [trying to do] the works of the Law. For through the Law we become conscious of sin [and the recognition of sin directs us toward repentance, but provides no remedy for sin].
Justification by Faith
21 But now the righteousness of God has been clearly revealed [independently and completely] apart from the Law, though it is [actually] confirmed by the Law and the [words and writings of the] Prophets. 22 This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [Jew or Gentile] who believe [and trust in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s Son]. There is no distinction,(H)
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