Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 92[a]
Praise of God’s Just Rule
1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath.[b]
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name,[c] O Most High,
3 to proclaim your kindness[d] in the morning
and your faithfulness during the night,
4 with the ten-stringed harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
5 [e]Your deeds, O Lord, have caused me to exult;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy:
6 How great are your deeds, O Lord!
How profound are your thoughts!
7 [f]A senseless person cannot grasp this;
a fool[g] is unable to comprehend it.
8 Even though the wicked may sprout like grass
and all evildoers may prosper,
they are doomed to eternal destruction,[h]
9 whereas you, O Lord, are exalted forever.[i]
10 Surely your enemies, O Lord,
surely your enemies will perish,
and all evildoers will be scattered.
11 [j]You have given me the strength of a wild bull
and anointed me with fresh oil.
12 My eyes have witnessed the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
13 [k]The righteous will flourish like the palm tree;
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
14 They are planted in the house of the Lord[l]
and will flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They still will bear fruit, in their old age,
and they will remain fresh and green,
16 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, in whom no injustice can be found.”
3 Follow my statutes and keep my commandments and obey them.[a] 4 Then I will give you rain in its proper season and the yield of the land shall increase and the trees of the field shall bear their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall continue even until your grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall continue until the time for planting. You shall eat your fill of your bread, and dwell securely in your land. 6 I will grant peace in the land. You shall lie down, fearing nothing. I will rid the land of savage beasts, and the sword will not pass through your land. 7 You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you ten thousand, and you shall put them to flight. Your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 9 I will look with favor upon you, and make you fruitful, and cause you to multiply, and establish my covenant with you. 10 You shall still be eating the old harvest and shall have to clean out the old because of the new. 11 I will establish my tabernacle among you, and my soul will not reject you. 12 [b]I will walk in your midst and I will be your God and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord, your God, who brought you forth from the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be their slaves. I have broken the bonds of your yoke and brought you out with your heads held high.
14 Consequences of Disobedience.“But if you do not listen to me and do not keep these commandments 15 and if you despise my statutes and hate my ordinances, failing to observe my commandments and breaking my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit terror upon you, and consumption and fever that will destroy your eyesight and break your hearts. You shall plant your seeds in vain, and your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you so that you are slain by your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee even though no one is pursuing you.
18 “Then, if you still do not obey me, I will punish you seven times as much for your sins. 19 I shall break down your stubborn pride. I shall make your skies like iron and your earth like brass. 20 Your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.
God Wills Your Sanctification[a]
Chapter 4
Respect for the Body.[b] 1 Finally, brethren, you learned from us how you ought to live so that you may be pleasing to God—and as you are indeed doing. Now we ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus to do so even more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. 4 Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, 5 not to gratify passion[c] like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 No one is ever to wrong or take advantage of a brother in this regard.
As we have previously instructed you and solemnly warned you, the Lord is the avenger in all this. 7 For God has called us to holiness, not to impurity. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects these instructions[d] rejects not human authority but the God who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
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