Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
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A miktam[a] by David.
You Are My Lord
1 Guard me, O God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”[b]
3 The holy ones who are in the land are glorious.
All my delight is in them.
4 Those who chase after another god will increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.
I will not take up their names on my lips.
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
5 Lord, you are the cup that has been given to me.
You have secured an allotment for me.
6 The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places.
Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine.
7 I will bless the Lord, who guides me.
Even at night my heart[c] instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad,
and my whole being[d] rejoices.
Even my flesh will dwell securely
10 because you will not abandon my life to the grave.
You will not let your favored one[e] see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life,
fullness of joy in your presence,
pleasures at your right hand forever.
Daniel Explains Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was horrified for a moment, and his thoughts troubled him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its meaning trouble you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My Lord, if only the dream were about your enemies and its meaning about your foes!”
20 The tree which you saw grew and became strong. Its height reached to heaven, and it was visible to the whole earth. 21 Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit was abundant. On it there was food for all. The wild animals lived under it, and the birds of the air lived in its branches.
22 You are the tree, Your Majesty. For you have grown, and you have become great. Your greatness has increased and reached to heaven. Your dominion reaches to the ends of the earth. 23 And you, Your Majesty, saw a watcher, who was a holy one, coming down from heaven, and he said, “Chop down the tree and destroy it. However, leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with an iron and bronze band around it. Let it be with the grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew from the sky. Its place will be with the wild animals, until seven times pass over it.”
24 This is the interpretation, Your Majesty:
It is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord, the king. 25 You will be driven away from humans, and your dwelling will be with the wild animals. You will have to eat plants as bulls do, and you will be wet with the dew from the sky. Seven times will pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men, and he gives them to whomever he wishes. 26 Because they said to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will remain yours when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
27 Therefore, Your Majesty, let my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins with righteousness and from your guilty deeds by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be extended.
The Fullness That Is Ours in Christ
6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith[a] with thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ. 9 For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ. 10 And you have been brought to fullness in him. Christ is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh,[b] in the circumcision of Christ, 12 when you were buried with Christ in baptism. And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead.
13 Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. 14 God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.