Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 78[a]
A New Beginning in Zion and David
1 A maskil of Asaph.
I
Attend, my people, to my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable,[b]
unfold the puzzling events of the past.(A)
3 What we have heard and know;
things our ancestors have recounted to us.(B)
4 We do not keep them from our children;
we recount them to the next generation,
The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and his strength,
the wonders that he performed.(C)
5 God made a decree in Jacob,
established a law in Israel:(D)
Which he commanded our ancestors,
they were to teach their children;
6 That the next generation might come to know,
children yet to be born.(E)
In turn they were to recount them to their children,
7 that they too might put their confidence in God,
And not forget God’s deeds,
but keep his commandments.
8 They were not to be like their ancestors,
a rebellious and defiant generation,(F)
A generation whose heart was not constant,(G)
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
B
17 But they went on sinning against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.(A)
18 They tested God in their hearts,
demanding the food they craved.(B)
19 They spoke against God, and said,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?(C)
20 True, when he struck the rock,
water gushed forth,
the wadies flooded.
But can he also give bread,
or provide meat to his people?”
C
21 The Lord heard and grew angry;(D)
fire blazed up against Jacob;
anger flared up against Israel.
22 For they did not believe in God,
did not trust in his saving power.
23 [a]So he commanded the clouds above;
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 God rained manna upon them for food;
grain from heaven he gave them.(E)
25 Man ate the bread of the angels;[b]
food he sent in abundance.
26 He stirred up the east wind in the skies;
by his might God brought on the south wind.
27 He rained meat upon them like dust,
winged fowl like the sands of the sea,
28 They fell down in the midst of their camp,
all round their dwellings.
29 They ate and were well filled;
he gave them what they had craved.
Chapter 8
God’s Care. 1 Be careful to observe this whole commandment(A) that I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how for these forty years the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the wilderness,(B) so as to test you by affliction, to know what was in your heart: to keep his commandments, or not. 3 He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna,(C) a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone[a] that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. 4 The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years.(D) 5 So you must know in your heart that, even as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord, your God, disciplines you.(E) 6 Therefore, keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him.
Cautions About Prosperity. 7 (F)For the Lord, your God, is bringing you into a good country, a land with streams of water, with springs and fountains welling up in the hills and valleys, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and of honey, 9 a land where you will always have bread and where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones contain iron and in whose hills you can mine copper. 10 But when you have eaten and are satisfied, you must bless the Lord, your God, for the good land he has given you.
Thanksgiving. 8 First, I give thanks[a] to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world.(A) 9 God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly,(B) 10 [b]always asking in my prayers that somehow by God’s will I may at last find my way clear to come to you.(C) 11 For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened,(D) 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[c] that I often planned to come to you, though I was prevented until now, that I might harvest some fruit among you, too, as among the rest of the Gentiles.(E) 14 To Greeks[d] and non-Greeks alike, to the wise and the ignorant, I am under obligation; 15 that is why I am eager to preach the gospel also to you in Rome.(F)
II. Humanity Lost Without the Gospel
God’s Power for Salvation.[e]
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.