Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
17 1 Here he complaineth to God of the cruel pride and arrogance of Saul, and the rest of his enemies, who thus raged without any cause given on his part. 6 Therefore he desireth God to revenge his innocence and deliver him.
The prayer of David.
1 Hear [a]the right, O Lord, consider my cry: hearken unto my prayer of lips unfeigned.
2 Let my [b]sentence come forth from thy presence, and let thine eyes behold equity.
3 Thou hast [c]proved and visited mine heart in the night: thou hast tried me, and foundest nothing: for I was purposed that my [d]mouth should not offend.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the [e]words of thy lips I kept me from the paths of the cruel man.
5 Stay my steps in thy paths, that my feet do not slide.
6 I have called upon thee: [f]surely thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words.
7 Show thy marvelous mercies: thou that art the Savior of them that trust in thee, from such as [g]resist thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye: hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from mine enemies, which compass me round about for [h]my soul.
10 They are enclosed in their own [i]fat, and they have spoken proudly with their mouth.
11 They have compassed us now in our steps: they have set their eyes to bring down to the ground:
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of prey, and as it were a Lion’s whelp lurking in secret places.
13 Up Lord, [j]disappoint him: cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked [k]with thy sword,
14 From men by thine [l]hand, O Lord, from men [m]of the world, who have their [n]portion in this life, whose bellies thou fillest with thine hid treasure: their children have enough, and leave the rest of their substance for their children.
15 But I will behold thy face [o]in righteousness, and when I [p]wake, I shall be satisfied with thine image.
3 A prophecy of Christ and of his kingdom.
1 And he showed me Joshua the high Priest, [a]standing before the Angel of the Lord, and [b]Satan stood at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the [c]Lord said unto Satan, The Lord reprove thee, O Satan: even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, reprove thee. Is not this a [d][brand] taken out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with [e]filthy garments, and stood before the Angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the [f]filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have [g]caused thine iniquity to depart from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them [h]set a fair diadem upon his head. So they set a fair diadem upon his head, and clothed him with garments, and the Angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the Angel of the Lord testified unto Joshua, saying,
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my watch, thou shalt also [i]judge mine house, and shalt also keep my [j]courts, and I will give thee place among [k]these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high Priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [l]are monstrous persons: but behold, I will bring forth the [m]Branch my servant.
9 For lo, the [n]stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I [o]will cut out the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will take [p]away the iniquity of this land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the [q]vine, and under the fig tree.
4 For if God spared not the (A)Angels that had sinned, but cast them down into [a]hell, and delivered them into [b]chains of darkness, to be kept unto damnation:
5 Neither hath spared the [c]old world, but saved (B)Noah the eighth person a [d]preacher of righteousness, and brought in the Flood upon the world of the ungodly,
6 And (C)turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them and overthrew them, and made them an ensample unto them that after should live ungodly,
7 And delivered just Lot vexed with the uncleanly conversation of the wicked:
8 (For he being righteous, and dwelling among them, in [e]seeing and hearing, [f]vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.)
9 The Lord [g]knoweth to deliver the godly out of tentation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment under punishment:
10 [h]And chiefly them that walk after the flesh, in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government, which are bold, and stand in their own conceit, and fear not to speak evil of them that are in [i]dignity.
11 Whereas the Angels which are greater both in power and might, give not railing judgment against them before the Lord.
12 [j]But these as natural brute beasts, led with sensuality and [k]made to be taken, and destroyed, speak evil of those things which they know not, and shall perish through their own [l]corruption.
13 And shall receive the wages of unrighteousness, as they which count it pleasure daily to live deliciously. [m]Spots they are and blots, delighting themselves in their deceivings, [n]in feasting with you.
14 [o]Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease to sin, beguiling unstable souls, they have hearts exercised with covetousness, they are the children of curse:
15 Which forsaking the right way, have gone astray following the way of (D)Balaam, the son of Beor, which loved the wages of unrighteousness.
16 But he was rebuked for his iniquity: for the dumb beast speaking with man’s voice forbade the foolishness of the Prophet.
17 (E)[p]These are [q]wells without water, and clouds carried about with a tempest, to whom the [r]black darkness is reserved forever.
18 For in speaking [s]swelling words of vanity, they [t]beguile with wantonness through the lusts of the flesh them that were [u]clean escaped from them which are wrapped in error,
19 Promising unto them liberty, and are themselves the (F)servants of corruption: for of whomsoever a man is overcome, even unto the same is he in bondage.
20 (G)[v] For if they, after they have escaped from the filthiness of the world, through the acknowledging of the Lord, and of the Savior Jesus Christ, are yet tangled again therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have acknowledged the way of righteousness, than after they have acknowledged it, to turn from the holy commandment given unto them.
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