Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 56
A Call for God’s Protection
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” A Miktam of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.[a](B)
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.(C)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?(D)
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.(E)
6 They stir up strife,[b] they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.(F)
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.(G)
8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings.[c]
Put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?(H)
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.(I)
This I know: God is for me.(J)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere humans do to me?(K)
Elijah and the Widow
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath(A) that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”(B) 11 As she went 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,(C) I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil(D) in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”(E)
13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’”(F)
15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.(G) 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through[a] Elijah.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature,(A) but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers(B) of this age, who are coming to nothing.(C) 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined(D) before the ages for our glory.(E) 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(F) 9 But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.[a](G)
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything,(H) even the depths of God.(I) 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts[b] except his spirit(J) within him? In the same way, no one knows(K) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words(L) taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.[c] 14 But the person without the Spirit[d] does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated[e] spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate[f] everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For
But we have the mind of Christ.(N)
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