Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
A Maskil[a] of (A)Asaph.
74 O God, why do you (B)cast us off forever?
Why does your anger (C)smoke against (D)the sheep of your pasture?
2 (E)Remember your congregation, which you have (F)purchased of old,
which you have (G)redeemed to be (H)the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, (I)where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to (J)the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have (K)roared in the midst of your meeting place;
(L)they set up their (M)own signs for (N)signs.
5 They were like those who swing (O)axes
in a forest of trees.[b]
6 And all its (P)carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They (Q)set your sanctuary on fire;
they (R)profaned (S)the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They (T)said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (U)signs;
(V)there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, (W)is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why (X)do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment[c] and destroy them!
12 Yet (Y)God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You (Z)divided the sea by your might;
you (AA)broke the heads of (AB)the sea monsters[d] on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of (AC)Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You (AD)split open springs and brooks;
you (AE)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established (AF)the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have (AG)fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made (AH)summer and winter.
18 (AI)Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and (AJ)a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your (AK)dove to the wild beasts;
(AL)do not forget the life of your poor forever.
David in Saul's Service
14 (A)Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, (B)and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants (C)who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will (D)play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, (E)a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, (F)and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, (G)who is with the sheep.” 20 (H)And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul (I)and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And (J)whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre (K)and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
The Thousand Years
20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, (A)holding in his hand the key to (B)the bottomless pit[a] and a great chain. 2 And he seized (C)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and (D)bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into (E)the pit, and shut it and (F)sealed it over him, so that (G)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
4 Then I saw (H)thrones, and (I)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw (J)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those (K)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. (L)They came to life and (M)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 (N)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such (O)the second death has no power, but they will be (P)priests of God and of Christ, and they (Q)will reign with him for a thousand years.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.