Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 56[a]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[b] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(B)
What can mere flesh do to me?(C)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(D)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[c]
recorded in your book?(E)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(F)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
11 The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? “I see a branch of the almond tree,”[a] I replied. 12 Then the Lord said to me: You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to carry it out. 13 (A)A second time the word of the Lord came to me: What do you see? I replied, “I see a boiling kettle whose mouth is tipped away from the north.”[b]
14 The Lord said to me, And from the north evil will pour out over all who dwell in the land.(B)
15 Look, I am summoning
all the kingdoms of the north—oracle of the Lord—
Each king shall come and set up his throne
in the gateways of Jerusalem,
Against all its surrounding walls
and against all the cities of Judah.(C)
16 I will pronounce my sentence against them
for all their wickedness in forsaking me,
In burning incense to other gods,
in bowing down to the works of their hands.(D)
17 But you, prepare yourself;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Do not be terrified on account of them,
or I will terrify you before them;
18 For I am the one who today
makes you a fortified city,
A pillar of iron, a wall of bronze,
against the whole land:
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
its priests and the people of the land.(E)
19 They will fight against you, but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you—oracle of the Lord.
41 (A)As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,(B) 42 saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.(C) 43 [a]For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.(D) 44 They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”(E)
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