Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection from Secret Enemies.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]complaint;
Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly,
From the scheming of those who do wrong,
3
Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They aim venomous words as arrows,
4
To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];
Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.
5
They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will discover us?”
6
They devise acts of injustice, saying,
“We are ready with a well-conceived plan.”
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).
7
But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
8
So they will be caused to stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].
9
Then all men will fear [God’s judgment];
They will declare the work of God,
And they will consider and wisely acknowledge what He has done.
10
The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;
All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.
Job Feels Insulted
19 Then Job answered and said,
2
“How long will you torment and exasperate me
And crush me with words?
3
“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].
4
“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].
5
“If indeed you [braggarts] vaunt and magnify yourselves over me
And prove my disgrace (humiliation) to me,
6
Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.
Everything Is Against Him
7
“Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not heard;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8
“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has set darkness upon my paths.
9
“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.
10
“He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
He has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11
“He has also kindled His wrath [like a fire] against me
And He considers and counts me as one of His adversaries.
12
“His troops come together
And build up their way and siege works against me
And camp around my tent.
13
“He has put my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14
“My relatives have failed [me],
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.
15
“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16
“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with words.
17
“My breath is repulsive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18
“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.
19
“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.
20
“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.
21
“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.
22
“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?
11 Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, who are called “Uncircumcision” by those who called themselves “Circumcision,” [itself a mere mark] which is made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God’s agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God. 13 But now [at this very moment] in Christ Jesus you who once were [so very] far away [from God] have been brought near [a]by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us], 15 by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace. 16 And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility. 17 And He came and preached the good news of peace to you [Gentiles] who were far away, and peace to those [Jews] who were near.(A) 18 For it is through Him that we both have a [direct] way of approach in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord]. 22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
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