Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 21[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[b]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[c]
2 You grant[d] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[e] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[f] rich[g] blessings;[h]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[i]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[j]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[k]
you give him majestic splendor.[l]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[m]
7 For the king trusts[n] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[o] faithfulness he is not shaken.[p]
8 You[q] prevail over[r] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[s]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[t] when you appear.[u]
The Lord angrily devours them;[v]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[w] from the earth,
their descendants[x] from among the human race.[y]
11 Yes,[z] they intend to do you harm;[aa]
they dream up a scheme,[ab] but they do not succeed.[ac]
12 For you make them retreat[ad]
when you aim your arrows at them.[ae]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![af]
We will sing and praise[ag] your power.
The Cutting of the Covenant
15 After these things the Lord’s message came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield[a] and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”[b]
2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord,[c] what will you give me since[d] I continue to be[e] childless, and my heir[f] is[g] Eliezer of Damascus?”[h] 3 Abram added,[i] “Since[j] you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”[k]
4 But look,[l] the Lord’s message came to him: “This man[m] will not be your heir, but instead[n] a son[o] who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 The Lord[p] took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
6 Abram believed[q] the Lord, and the Lord[r] credited[s] it[t] as righteousness[u] to him.
7 The Lord said[v] to him, “I am the Lord[w] who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans[x] to give you this land to possess.” 8 But[y] Abram[z] said, “O Sovereign Lord,[aa] by what[ab] can I know that I am to possess it?”
9 The Lord[ac] said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram[ad] took all these for him and then cut them in two[ae] and placed each half opposite the other,[af] but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,[ag] and great terror overwhelmed him.[ah] 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain[ai] that your descendants will be strangers[aj] in a foreign country.[ak] They will be enslaved and oppressed[al] for 400 years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.[am] Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 But as for you,[an] you will go to your ancestors[ao] in peace and be buried at a good old age.[ap] 16 In the fourth generation[aq] your descendants[ar] will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”[as]
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch[at] passed between the animal parts.[au] 18 That day the Lord made a covenant[av] with Abram: “To your descendants I give[aw] this land, from the river of Egypt[ax] to the great river, the Euphrates River—
Trees and Their Fruit
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad[a] and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35 The good person[b] brings good things out of his[c] good treasury,[d] and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. 36 I[e] tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
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