Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Supplication for Rescue and Grateful Trust in God.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Silent Dove Among Those Far Away.” A Mikhtam of David. [A record of memorable thoughts] when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled on me;
All day long the adversary oppresses and torments me.
2
My enemies have trampled upon me all day long,
For they are many who fight proudly against me.
3
When I am afraid,
I will put my trust and faith in You.
4
In God, whose word I praise;
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not fear.
What can mere man do to me?
5
All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6
They attack, they hide and lurk,
They watch my steps,
As they have [expectantly] waited to take my life.
7
Cast them out because of their wickedness.
In anger bring down the peoples, O God!
8
You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not recorded in Your book?
9
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.(A)
10
In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11
In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12
Your vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will give thank offerings to You.
13
For You have rescued my soul from death,
Yes, and my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of life.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to [a]Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks [for firewood]. He called out to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a jar, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it [as our last meal] and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. Just make me a little bread from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain [again] on the face of the earth.’” 15 She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those spiritually mature [believers who have teachable hearts and a greater understanding]; but [it is a higher] wisdom not [the wisdom] of this present age nor of the rulers and leaders of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom once hidden [from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom] which God predestined before the ages to our glory [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. 8 None of the rulers of this age recognized and understood this wisdom; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written [in Scripture],
“Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”(A)
10 For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things [diligently], even [sounding and measuring] the [profound] depths of God [the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding]. 11 For what person knows the thoughts and motives of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So also no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak of these things, not in words taught or supplied by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual thoughts with spiritual words [for those being guided by the Holy Spirit].
14 But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]. 15 But the spiritual man [the spiritually mature Christian] judges all things [questions, examines and applies what the Holy Spirit reveals], yet is himself judged by no one [the unbeliever cannot judge and understand the believer’s spiritual nature]. 16 For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].(B)
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