Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 74[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?[c]
Why does your anger burn[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued[f] so they could be your very own nation,[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.[i]
4 Your enemies roar[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;[k]
they set up their battle flags.[l]
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.[m]
6 And now[n] they are tearing down[o] all its engravings[p]
with axes[q] and crowbars.[r]
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.[s]
8 They say to themselves,[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.[v]
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;[w]
there are no longer any prophets,[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.[y]
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.[z]
12 But God has been my[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.[ab]
13 You destroyed[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster[ad] in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;[ae]
you fed[af] him to the people who live along the coast.[ag]
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.[ai]
16 You established the cycle of day and night;[aj]
you put the moon[ak] and sun in place.[al]
17 You set up all the boundaries[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.[an]
18 Remember how[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.[at]
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.[au]
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.[aw]
23 Do not disregard[ax] what your enemies say,[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.[az]
David Appears before Saul
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit[a] from the Lord tormented him. 15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre[b] and you will feel better.”[c] 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find[d] me a man who plays well and bring him to me.” 18 One of his attendants replied,[e] “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior[f] and is articulate[g] and handsome,[h] for the Lord is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep.” 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat[i] and sent them to Saul with[j] his son David. 21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal,[k] and he became his armor-bearer. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I am very pleased with him.”[l]
23 So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone.[m]
The Thousand Year Reign
20 Then[a] I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding[b] in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 2 He[c] seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years. 3 The angel[d] then[e] threw him into the abyss and locked[f] and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)
4 Then[g] I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge.[h] I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These[i] had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They[j] came to life[k] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.)[l] This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part[m] in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them,[n] but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
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