◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 26:1-8 (Your love is before my eyes); Jeremiah 14:13-18 (Denunciation of lying prophets); Ephesians 5:1-6 (Do not be deceived by empty words) (New Catholic Bible)

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August 31, 2023

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 26:1-8

Psalm 26^[a]

Prayer for the Righteous

¹Of David.

O Lord, come to my defense,
    for I have lived a blameless life.
I have placed my trust in the Lord,
    and never have I wavered in that regard.
²Test me, O Lord, and try me;
    probe my heart and my mind.
³For your kindness^[b] is before my eyes,
    and I am constantly guided by your truth.
⁴I do not sit in the company of deceivers,
    nor do I associate with hypocrites.
⁵I abhor the assembly of the wicked,
    and I refuse to associate with evildoers.
⁶I wash my hands in innocence^[c]
    and join the procession around your altar, O Lord,
⁷giving voice to your praises
    and proclaiming all your wondrous deeds.^[d]
⁸I love the house where you dwell, O Lord,
    the place where your glory resides.^[e]

Footnotes

Psalm 26:1 This psalm is a prayer for God’s discerning mercies to spare his faithful servant from the death that overtakes the wicked. In the psalms of supplication, we often hear this protestation from those accused who call upon God to bear witness to their innocence. The prayer that we now read is perhaps that of a Levite, but certainly of a man who loves the life of the temple. He is very sure of his rectitude in the face of others’ accusations. Possibly he is also quite conscious of the faults that everyone has in his life.
He teaches us a great certainty: it is better to throw ourselves upon the judgment of God than to let ourselves be crushed by the judgment of others. This believer, who is at ease to praise the Lord in the temple, loves a clear and decided fidelity. Who would fail to be attracted by such a desire for uprightness and sincerity before God!
In praying this psalm, we can recall that since we share by faith and Baptism in the mystery of Christ dead and risen, our old self has been crucified with Christ so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might cease to be enslaved by sin. Divested of our old nature and invested with the new nature of Christ who becomes all in all (see Col 3:9-11), we share in his holiness and irreproachable innocence before God, being purified from all injustice (see Rom 8:1; 1 Jn 1:9).
Psalm 26:3 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
Psalm 26:6 Wash my hands in innocence: a liturgical action (see Ex 30:19, 21; 40:31f), which symbolized both inner and outer cleanliness (see Isa 1:16). Those who come to God must have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps 24:4). Around your altar: celebrating God’s saving acts beside his altar was regarded as a public act of devotion in which assembled worshipers could be invited to participate (see Ps 43:5).
Psalm 26:7 Proclaiming . . . wondrous deeds: see note on Ps 9:2.
Psalm 26:8 Where your glory resides: the presence of God’s glory meant the presence of God himself (see Ex 24:16; 33:22). His glory dwelt in the tabernacle (see Ex 40:35) and later in the temple (see 1 Ki 8:11). John 1:14 places that same presence in the Word made flesh who “dwelt among us.”

Jeremiah 14:13-18

¹³In response I said, “Ah, Lord God, the prophets continue to say to them that they will suffer neither sword nor famine, since you will give them lasting peace in this place.”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or give them any orders or speak to them. They are prophesying to you lying visions, worthless divinations, and delusions of their own minds.

¹⁵Therefore, thus says the Lord about the prophets who are prophesying in his name: Although I did not send them, they continue to assert that neither sword nor famine will afflict this land. By sword and famine those same prophets will perish. ¹⁶Furthermore, the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and the sword. No one will bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour down on them their own wickedness.

¹⁷This is the message you are to deliver to them:
    Let my eyes stream with tears
    day and night without ceasing,
for my virgin daughter—my people—
    has suffered a crushing blow
    and is grievously injured.
¹⁸If I go out into the open fields,
    I see those slain by the sword.
If I go into the city,
    I behold those who have perished through famine.
Even prophets and priests roam in confusion
    in a land they do not know.

Ephesians 5:1-6

Chapter 5

¹Hence, be imitators of God, as beloved children, ²and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God.

Sins To Avoid. ³Indeed, fornication and impurity of any kind, as well as greed, should not even be mentioned among you. Such talk is not fitting for saints. ⁴You should never engage in any obscene or foolish or suggestive conversation. All this is completely out of place. Instead, you should rather be engaged in offering thanks to God.

⁵You can be absolutely certain that no immoral or impure person or one who is greedy—that is, an idolater—will have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are the very things that bring down the wrath of God on those who are disobedient.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)