Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
84 Lord who rules over all,
how lovely is the place where you live!
2 I can’t wait to be in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.
I really want to be there.
My whole being cries out
for the living God.
3 Lord who rules over all,
even the sparrow has found a home near your altar.
My King and my God,
the swallow also has a nest there,
where she may have her young.
4 Blessed are those who live in your house.
They are always praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength comes from you.
They have firmly decided to travel to your temple.
6 As they pass through the dry Valley of Baka,
they make it a place where water flows.
The rain in the fall covers it with pools.
7 Those people get stronger as they go along,
until each of them appears in Zion, where God lives.
8 Lord God who rules over all, hear my prayer.
God of the people of Jacob, listen to me.
9 God, may you be pleased with your anointed king.
You appointed him to be like a shield that keeps us safe.
10 A single day in your courtyards is better
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather guard the door of the house of my God
than live in the tents of sinful people.
11 The Lord God is like the sun that gives us light.
He is like a shield that keeps us safe.
The Lord blesses us with favor and honor.
He doesn’t hold back anything good
from those whose lives are without blame.
12 Lord who rules over all,
blessed is the person who trusts in you.
Solomon Builds the Temple
6 Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. It was 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt. It was in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule over Israel. He started in the second month. That was the month of Ziv.
2 The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. 3 The temple had a porch in front of the main hall. The porch was as wide as the temple itself. It was 30 feet wide. It came out 15 feet from the front of the temple. 4 Solomon made narrow windows high up in the temple walls.
21 Solomon covered the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He placed gold chains across the front of the Most Holy Room. That room was covered with gold. 22 So Solomon covered the inside of the whole temple with gold. He also covered the altar for burning incense with gold. It was right in front of the Most Holy Room.
10 God has given me the grace to lay a foundation as a wise builder. Now someone else is building on it. But each one should build carefully. 11 No one can lay any other foundation than what has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 A person may build on it using gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. 13 But each person’s work will be shown for what it is. On judgment day it will be brought to light. It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good each person’s work is. 14 If the building doesn’t burn up, God will give the builder a reward for the work. 15 If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames.
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple? Don’t you know that God’s Spirit lives among you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. God’s temple is holy. And you all together are that temple.
18 Don’t fool yourselves. Suppose some of you think you are wise by the standards of the world. Then you should become “fools” so that you can become wise. 19 The wisdom of this world is foolish in God’s eyes. It is written, “God catches wise people in their own evil plans.” (Job 5:13) 20 It is also written, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of wise people don’t amount to anything.” (Psalm 94:11) 21 So no more bragging about human leaders! All things are yours. 22 That means Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All are yours. 23 You are joined to Christ and belong to him. And Christ is joined to God.
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