Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (A)takes refuge in You;
And in the (B)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (C)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (D)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (E)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who [d](F)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [e](G)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (H)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (I)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (J)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (K)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a (L)net for my steps;
My soul is (M)bowed down;
They (N)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (O)fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 (P)My (Q)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (R)my glory!
Awake, (S)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (T)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [f]nations.
10 For Your (U)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [g]truth to the clouds.
11 (V)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David (A)and bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me [a]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak [b]to you, and listen to the words of your slave. 25 Please do not let my lord [c]pay attention to this [d]worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. [e]Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
26 “Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from [f]shedding blood, and (B)from [g]avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, (C)may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal. 27 And now let (D)this [h]gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who [i]accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive (E)the offense of your slave; for (F)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an [j]enduring house, because my lord is (G)fighting the battles of the Lord, and (H)evil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your [k]life, then the [l]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the [m]lives of your enemies (I)He will sling out [n]as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and (J)appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not become an obstacle to you, or a [o]troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having [p]avenged himself. (K)When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”
32 Then David said to Abigail, “(L)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, (M)who have kept me this day from [q]bloodshed and from [r]avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, (N)who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one [s]male.” 35 So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “(O)Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to [t]you and [u](P)granted your request.”
Exhortation
7 Therefore be patient, (A)brothers and sisters, (B)until the coming of the Lord. (C)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until [a]it gets (D)the early and late rains. 8 (E)You too be patient; (F)strengthen your hearts, for (G)the coming of the Lord is (H)near. 9 (I)Do not [b]complain, (J)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, (K)the Judge is standing [c](L)right at the [d]door. 10 As an example, (M)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take (N)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those (O)blessed who endured. You have heard of (P)the [e]endurance of Job and have seen (Q)the [f]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that (R)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12 But above all, (S)my brothers and sisters, (T)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but [g]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.
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