Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 46
The King’s Reign
Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah.
According to alamoth.[a] A song.
The Earth Shaken
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who can always be found in times of trouble.
2 That is why we will not fear when the earth dissolves
and when the mountains tumble into the heart of the sea.
3 Its waters roar and foam.
The mountains quake when it rises. Interlude
A City Unshaken
4 There is a river—its streams bring joy to the city of God,
to the holy dwelling of the Most High.
5 God is in her. She will not fall.
God will help her at daybreak.
6 Nations are in turmoil. Kingdoms fall.
God raises his voice. The earth melts.
7 The Lord of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is a fortress for us. Interlude
8 Come, look at the works of the Lord.
What a wasteland he has made of the earth!
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He shatters the bow. He cuts up the spear.
He burns the carts[b] with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is a fortress for us. Interlude
12 The messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah said to him, “Pay attention to the words of the prophets. With one mouth they are promising good things to the king. Please! Your words should be like the words of one of them. You should say something good.”
13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that is what I will say.”
14 Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or should I refrain?”
Micaiah answered him, “Go up and triumph. They will be given into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to me that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
16 Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no masters. Let each one return to his home in peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he does not prophesy anything good about me but only bad?”
18 Then Micaiah proclaimed:
Now hear this word from the Lord.
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and the whole army of heaven was standing on his right and on his left.
19 The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, so that he goes up and falls at Ramoth Gilead?”
One spirit said this; another one said that. 20 Finally a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, “I will entice him.”
The Lord said to him, “How?”
21 He said, “I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.”
The Lord said, “You will entice him successfully. Go and do that.”
22 Now look! The Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all your prophets, for the Lord has decreed disaster for you.
One Perfect Sacrifice
23 Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven be cleansed by these sacrifices, but it was necessary that the heavenly things themselves be cleansed with sacrifices better than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.