Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings
A [a]Contemplation of (A)Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
(B)Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3 “I(C) have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have (D)sworn to My servant David:
4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne (E)to all generations.’ ” Selah
5 And (F)the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 (G)For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7 (H)God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 (I)You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10 (J)You have broken [b]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 (K)The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
(L)Tabor and (M)Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the (N)joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our [c]horn is (O)exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [a]Tokhath, the son of [b]Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will (A)bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the (B)book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ 26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the (C)Lord. 28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
Josiah Restores True Worship(D)
29 (E)Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he (F)read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 Then the king (G)stood in (H)his place and made a (I)covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the (J)abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel [c]diligently serve the Lord their God. (K)All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.
The Faith of the Patriarchs(A)
17 By faith Abraham, (B)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 [a]of whom it was said, (C)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God (D)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
20 By faith (E)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, (F)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith (G)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
The Faith of Moses(H)
23 By faith (I)Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s (J)command.
24 By faith (K)Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the [b]passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming (L)the [c]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures [d]in Egypt; for he looked to the (M)reward.
27 By faith (N)he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith (O)he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.