Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 141
Guard My Lips and Heart
Heading
A psalm by David.
Accept My Prayer
1 Lord, I call to you. Hurry to me.
Turn your ear toward my voice when I call to you.
2 May my prayer linger before you like incense,
the lifting up of my hands like an evening offering.
Guard My Heart and Mouth
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn toward anything evil,
to take part in wicked deeds with men who do evil.
Let me not taste their delicacies.
Correct Me
5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is mercy.
Let him rebuke me—it is lotion[a] on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
Reject the Wicked
But my prayer is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
and they will hear that my words were pleasant.
7 They will say,[b] “As one splits and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
Closing Plea
8 But my eyes look to you, Lord God.[c]
In you I take refuge. Do not take away my life.
9 Keep me from the snares they have set for me,
from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
21 In this way I will establish my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see my justice which I have carried out and my hand which I have laid upon them. 22 The house of Israel will know from that day forward that I am the Lord, their God. 23 Then the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their guilt, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their rebellion, and I hid my face from them.
25 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Now I will bring about the restoration of Jacob. I will have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will bear their shame and all the unfaithfulness that they displayed toward me, even when they lived securely in their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show myself to be holy among them in the sight of many nations. 28 They will know that I am the Lord their God, because, even though I sent them into captivity among the nations, I also gathered them again to their own land, and I will never again leave any of them there in captivity. 29 Nor will I ever hide my face from them again, because I will have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.
A Vision of the New Temple[a]
40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year,[b] on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me there. 2 In visions of God, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On the south side there was a structure that resembled a city. 3 When he brought me there, I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze. In his hand he had a linen cord and a measuring rod. He was standing by the gatehouse.
4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch carefully, listen carefully, and pay attention to[c] everything that I am about to show you, because you were brought here so that I could show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”
Live for the Good of Others and for the Glory of God
23 “Everything is permitted”[a]—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permitted”—but not everything builds up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of others. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without asking questions for the sake of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[b] 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you over and you want to go, eat whatever you are served without asking questions for the sake of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.[c] 29 I mean the other person’s conscience, not your own. For why is my freedom judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat the food with thankfulness, why am I criticized for something for which I give thanks?
31 So whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do everything to the glory of God. 32 Do not give offense to Jews, or Greeks, or God’s church, 33 just as I also try to please all people in all things, by not seeking what is best for me but for the many, so that they may be saved. 11 1 Be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.