Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 72[a]
For[b] Solomon.
72 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions.[c]
Grant the king’s son[d] the ability to make fair decisions.[e]
2 Then he will judge[f] your people fairly,
and your oppressed ones[g] equitably.
3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,
and the hills will announce justice.[h]
4 He will defend[i] the oppressed among the people;
he will deliver[j] the children[k] of the poor
and crush the oppressor.
5 People will fear[l] you[m] as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,
for generation after generation.[n]
6 He[o] will descend like rain on the mown grass,[p]
like showers that drench[q] the earth.[r]
7 During his days the godly will flourish;[s]
peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky.[t]
19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem you will weep no more.[a]
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you.[b]
20 The Lord[c] will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink;[d]
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them.[e]
21 You[f] will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct[g] way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols[h]
and your gold-plated images.[i]
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,
and the ground will produce crops in abundance.[j]
At that time[k] your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing[l]
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.[m]
25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of[n] great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.
26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare,
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days,[o]
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones[p]
and heals their severe wound.[q]
16 So Paul stood up,[a] gestured[b] with his hand and said,
“Men of Israel,[c] and you Gentiles who fear God,[d] listen: 17 The God of this people Israel[e] chose our ancestors[f] and made the people great[g] during their stay as foreigners[h] in the country[i] of Egypt, and with uplifted arm[j] he led them out of it. 18 For[k] a period of about forty years he put up with[l] them in the wilderness.[m] 19 After[n] he had destroyed[o] seven nations[p] in the land of Canaan, he gave his people their land as an inheritance.[q] 20 All this took[r] about 450 years. After this[s] he gave them judges until the time of[t] Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled[u] forty years. 22 After removing him, God[v] raised up[w] David their king. He testified about him:[x] ‘I have found David[y] the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart,[z] who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’[aa] 23 From the descendants[ab] of this man[ac] God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he promised.[ad] 24 Before[ae] Jesus[af] arrived, John[ag] had proclaimed a baptism for repentance[ah] to all the people of Israel. 25 But while John was completing his mission,[ai] he said repeatedly,[aj] ‘What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!’[ak]
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