Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 96
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Call to Worship
1 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
3 Tell about his glory among the nations,
about his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Praise Him Alone
4 For great is the Lord and worthy of great praise.
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are “nothings,”[a]
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him.
Power and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, families of peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and power.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring a gift and come into his courtyards.
9 Bow down to the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.[b]
Look away from his face,[c] all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established.
It will not be moved.
He will judge the peoples with fairness.
Let Nature Praise Him
11 Let the heavens rejoice.
Let the earth celebrate.
Let the sea roar,
and all that fills it.
12 Let the fields be overjoyed,
and everything that is in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
3 On that day, when the Lord will give you rest from your sorrow, rest from your trouble, and rest from the bondage forced upon you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased!
How his fury[a] has ended!”
5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6 who struck down peoples with fury, blow after blow,
who ruled the nations in anger,
with a persecution that no one restrained.
7 The whole earth is at rest and is quiet.
Everything breaks into song.
8 Yes, the fir trees rejoice with you,
along with the cedars of Lebanon.
They say, “Since the time you were humbled,
no woodcutter has come to cut us down.”
9 The grave below is ready to meet you when you come.
It stirs up the departed spirits to meet you—
all those who once were the rulers of the earth.
It makes all those who were kings over nations
rise from their thrones.
10 They will all respond to you, Babylon.
The spirits all will ask you,
“Have you also become as weak as we are?
Have you become like us?”
11 Your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
along with the sound of your harps.
Maggots are spread out beneath you,
and worms cover you.
Recalling the Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus. 2 He said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has risen from the dead! That is why these powers are working in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when it was Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced among them. This pleased Herod. 7 So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
9 Although this saddened the king, because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that it be done. 10 He sent the order and had John beheaded in prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and reported this to Jesus.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.