Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [a]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how (A)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no (B)salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are (C)a shield around me,
My (D)glory, and the One who (E)lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He (F)answered me from (G)His holy [b]mountain. Selah
5 [c]I (H)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (I)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (J)set themselves against me all around.
5 “(A)Look among the nations! Watch!
Be horrified! (B)Be frightened speechless!
For I am accomplishing (C)a work in your days—
You would not believe it even if [a]you were told!
6 For behold, I am (D)raising up the Chaldeans,
That [b]grim and impetuous people
Who march [c]throughout the earth,
To (E)take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrifying and (F)feared;
Their (G)justice and [d]authority [e]originate with themselves.
8 Their (H)horses are faster than leopards,
And quicker than (I)wolves in the evening.
Their [f]horsemen charge along,
Their [g]horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (J)eagle [h]swooping down to devour.
9 All of them come for violence.
[i]Their horde of (K)faces moves forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They (L)make fun of kings,
And dignitaries are an object of laughter to them.
They (M)laugh at every fortress,
Then (N)heap up dirt and [j]capture it.
11 Then they fly along like the (O)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (P)guilty,
They whose (Q)strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from (R)time everlasting,
Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, Lord, have (S)appointed them to deliver judgment;
And You, O (T)Rock, have destined them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too (U)pure to look at evil,
And You cannot look at harm favorably.
Why do You (V)look favorably
At those who deal (W)treacherously?
Why are You (X)silent when the wicked (Y)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made people like the fish of the sea,
Like crawling things that have no ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (Z)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AA)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are joyful.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [k]burn incense to their fishing net,
Because through (AB)these things their [l]catch is [m]large,
And their food is [n]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AC)net,
And continually (AD)slay nations without sparing?
2 (A)Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter (B)various [a]trials, 3 knowing that (C)the testing of your (D)faith produces [b](E)endurance. 4 And let [c](F)endurance have its perfect [d]result, so that you may be [e](G)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you (H)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [f]without reproach, and (I)it will be given to him. 6 But he must (J)ask in faith (K)without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, (L)driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a [g](M)double-minded man, (N)unstable in all his ways.
9 (O)Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 but the rich person is to glory in his [h]humiliation, because (P)like [i]flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with (Q)its scorching heat and (R)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.
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