Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song About God’s Loyalty
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will always sing about the Lord’s love;
I will tell of his loyalty from now on.
2 I will say, “Your love continues forever;
your loyalty goes on and on like the sky.”
3 You said, “I made an agreement with the man of my choice;
I made a promise to my servant David.
4 I told him, ‘I will make your family continue forever.
Your kingdom will go on and on.’” Selah
19 Once, in a vision, you spoke
to those who worship you.
You said, “I have given strength to a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from my people.
20 I have found my servant David;
I appointed him by pouring holy oil on him.
21 I will steady him with my hand
and strengthen him with my arm.
22 No enemy will make him give forced payments,
and wicked people will not defeat him.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him;
I will defeat those who hate him.
24 My loyalty and love will be with him.
Through me he will be strong.
25 I will give him power over the sea
and control over the rivers.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my Savior.’
The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem
6 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel—thirty thousand of them. 2 Then he and all his people went to Baalah in Judah[a] to bring back the Ark of God. The Ark is called by the Name, the name of the Lord All-Powerful, whose throne is between the gold creatures with wings. 3 They put the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of Abinadab’s house on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, led the new cart 4 which had the Ark of God on it. Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all the Israelites were celebrating in the presence of the Lord. They were playing wooden instruments: lyres, harps, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals.
6 When David’s men came to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark of God. 7 The Lord was angry with Uzzah and killed him because of what he did. So Uzzah died there beside the Ark of God. 8 David was angry because the Lord had killed Uzzah. Now that place is called the Punishment of Uzzah.
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me now?” 10 So David would not move the Ark of the Lord to be with him in Jerusalem. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom, a man from Gath. 11 The Ark of the Lord stayed in Obed-Edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his family.
God Spoke Through His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. 2 But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made the world. 3 The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word. When the Son made people clean from their sins, he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven. 4 The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than theirs.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.