Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
63 1 David after he had been in great danger by Saul in the desert of Ziph, made this Psalm. 3 Wherein he giveth thanks to God for his wonderful deliverance, in whose mercies he trusted, even in the midst of his miseries. 9 Prophesying the destruction of God’s enemies: 11 And contrariwise happiness to all them that trust in the Lord.
A Psalm of David, when he was in the [a]wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul [b]thirsteth for thee: my flesh longeth greatly after thee in a barren and dry land without water:
2 Thus [c]I behold thee as in the Sanctuary, when I behold thy power and thy glory.
3 For thy loving-kindness is better than life: therefore my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I magnify thee all my life, and lift up mine hands in thy Name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied, as with [d]marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips,
6 When I remember thee on my bed, and when I think upon thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been mine helper, therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul [e]cleaveth unto thee: for thy right hand upholdeth me.
19 ¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of rage, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he charged and commanded that they should heat the furnace at once seven [a]times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he charged the most valiant men of war that were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the hot fiery furnace.
21 So these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their cloaks, with their other garments, and cast into the midst of the hot fiery furnace.
22 Therefore, because the king’s commandment was strait, that the furnace should be exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that brought forth Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell down bound into the midst of the hot fiery furnace.
24 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? Who answered, and said unto him, It is true, O king.
25 And he answered, and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the [b]son of God.
26 Then the King Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the hot fiery furnace, and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the servants of the high God, go forth and come hither: so Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego [c]came forth of the midst of the fire.
27 Then the nobles, princes, and dukes, and the king’s counselors came together to see these men, because the fire had no power over their bodies: for not an hair of their head was burnt, neither were their coats changed, nor any smell of fire came upon them.
28 Wherefore Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, [d]Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent his Angel, and delivered his servants, that put their trust in him, and have changed the king’s commandment, and yielded their bodies rather than they would serve or worship any god save their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language, which speak any [e]blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be drawn in pieces, and their houses shall be made a jakes, because there is no god that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the King promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babel.
8 ¶ [a]And unto the Angel of the Church of the [b]Smyrnians write, These things saith he that is first and last, which was dead and is alive.
9 [c]I know thy works and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them, which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things, which thou shalt suffer: behold, it shall come to pass, that the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have [d]tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
11 [e]Let him that hath an ear hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt [f]of the second death.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.