Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God
1 (A)Of David.
A
I
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,[b](B)
These my enemies and foes
themselves stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
even then do I trust.
II
4 One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
to visit his temple.(C)
5 For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,(D)
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is held high
above my enemies on every side!
I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
B
I
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
8 “Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;[c]
your face, Lord, do I seek!(E)
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
do not forsake me, God my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me in.(F)
II
11 Lord, show me your way;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.(G)
12 Do not abandon me to the desire of my foes;
malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.
13 I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.[d](H)
14 Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
Chapter 13
Abram and Lot Part. 1 From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot went with him.(A) 2 [a]Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.(B) 3 From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, 4 the site where he had first built the altar; and there Abram invoked the Lord by name.(C)
5 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not live together. 7 There were quarrels between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
14 After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west;(A) 15 all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.(B) 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted.(C) 17 Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. 18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.(D)
V. Polemic: Righteousness and the Goal in Christ[a]
Against Legalistic Teachers. 2 [b]Beware of the dogs! Beware of the evil-workers!(A) Beware of the mutilation![c] 3 For we are the circumcision,[d] we who worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,(B) 4 although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.(C)
Paul’s Autobiography. If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. 5 Circumcised on the eighth day,[e] of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee,(D) 6 in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.(E)
Righteousness from God. 7 [But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss[f] because of Christ.(F) 8 More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ,(G) the righteousness from God, depending on faith 10 to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,(H) 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.(I)
Forward in Christ.[g] 12 (J)It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,[h] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus].
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.