Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 92[a]
A Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Fidelity
1 A psalm. A sabbath song.
I
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,(A)
3 To proclaim your love at daybreak,
your faithfulness in the night,
4 With the ten-stringed harp,
with melody upon the lyre.(B)
5 For you make me jubilant, Lord, by your deeds;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy.
II
6 How great are your works, Lord!(C)
How profound your designs!
7 A senseless person cannot know this;
a fool cannot comprehend.
8 Though the wicked flourish like grass(D)
and all sinners thrive,
They are destined for eternal destruction;
9 but you, Lord, are forever on high.
10 Indeed your enemies, Lord,
indeed your enemies shall perish;
all sinners shall be scattered.(E)
III
11 You have given me the strength of a wild ox;(F)
you have poured rich oil upon me.(G)
12 My eyes look with glee on my wicked enemies;
my ears shall hear what happens to my wicked foes.(H)
13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree,
shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.(I)
14 [b]Planted in the house of the Lord,
they shall flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They shall bear fruit even in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
16 To proclaim: “The Lord is just;
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.”(J)
3 [a](A)If you live in accordance with my statutes and are careful to observe my commandments, 4 I will give you your rains in due season, so that the land will yield its crops, and the trees their fruit;(B) 5 your threshing will last till vintage time, and your vintage till the time for sowing, and you will eat your fill of food, and live securely in your land.(C) 6 I will establish peace in the land, and you will lie down to rest with no one to cause you anxiety. I will rid the country of ravenous beasts, and no sword shall sweep across your land. 7 You will rout your enemies, and they shall fall before your sword. 8 Five of you will put a hundred of your foes to flight, and a hundred of you will put to flight ten thousand, till your enemies fall before your sword.(D) 9 I will look with favor upon you, and make you fruitful and numerous,(E) as I carry out my covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the oldest stored harvest, and have to discard it to make room for the new.(F) 11 (G)I will set my tabernacle in your midst, and will not loathe you. 12 Ever present in your midst, I will be your God, and you will be my people; 13 I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be their slaves no more, breaking the bars of your yoke and making you walk erect.(H)
The Punishment of Disobedience.[b] 14 (I)But if you do not heed me and do not keep all these commandments, 15 if you reject my statutes and loathe my decrees, refusing to obey all my commandments and breaking my covenant, 16 then I, in turn, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you—with consumption and fever to dim the eyes and sap the life. You will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will consume the crop. 17 I will turn against you, and you will be beaten down before your enemies(J) and your foes will lord it over you. You will flee though no one pursues you.
18 If even after this you do not obey me, I will increase the chastisement for your sins sevenfold,(K) 19 to break your proud strength. I will make the sky above you as hard as iron, and your soil as hard as bronze, 20 so that your strength will be spent in vain; your land will bear no crops, and its trees no fruit.
III. Specific Exhortations
Chapter 4
General Exhortations. 1 Finally, brothers, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. 2 For you know what instructions[a] we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
Holiness in Sexual Conduct.[b] 3 This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, 4 that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God;(A) 6 not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. 8 Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you.(B)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.