Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of[a] “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.[b]
A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries
60 God, you have cast us off;
you have breached our defenses
and you have become enraged.
Return to us!
2 You made the earth quake;
you broke it open.
Repair its fractures,
because it has shifted.
3 You made your people go through hard times;
you had us drink wine that makes us stagger.
4 But you have given a banner to those who fear you,
so they may display it in honor of truth.[c]
5 So your loved ones may be delivered,
save us by your power[d]
and answer us quickly!
6 Then God spoke in his holiness,
“I will rejoice—
I will divide Shechem;
I will portion out the Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead belongs to me,
and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet,
and Judah my scepter.
8 Moab is my wash basin;
over Edom I will throw my shoes;
over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.”
9 Who will lead me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off?
Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies?
A Call to Repentance
14 [a]“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have fallen due to your own iniquity.
2 Bring a prepared speech with you
as you return to the Lord. Say to him:
‘Take away all our[b] iniquity,
and accept what is good.
Then we will present the fruit[c] of our lips.
3 Assyria won’t save us;
we won’t be riding on horses,
Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands,
“You are[d] our God.”
Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’
4 “I will correct their apostasy,
loving them freely,
since my anger will have turned away from them.[e]
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
Israel[f] will blossom like a lily,
growing roots like the cedars of[g] Lebanon.
6 Israel’s[h] branches will spread out,
and its beauty will be like an olive tree,
with its scent like that of Lebanon.
7 Those who live under its protection[i] will surely return.
Their grain will flourish;
they will blossom like a vine,
and Israel’s[j] scent will be like wine from Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim, what have I in common with idols?
I have listened and will pay attention to him.
I am like a flourishing cypress;
in me will your fruit be found.”
Concluding Counsel
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things.
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right:
the righteous follow his example,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
Stop Worrying(A)
22 Then Jesus[a] told his disciples, “That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat—or about your body—what you will wear, 23 because life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the crows.[b] They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t even have a storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 Can any of you add an hour to the length of your life[c] by worrying? 26 So if you can’t do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? 27 Consider how the lilies grow. They don’t work or spin yarn, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 28 Now if that’s the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you—you who have little faith?
29 “So stop concerning yourselves about what you will eat or what you will drink, and stop being distressed, 30 because it is the unbelievers[d] who are concerned about all these things. Surely your Father knows that you need them! 31 Instead, be concerned about his[e] kingdom, and these things will be provided for you as well.
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