Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 28[a]
Thanksgiving for Supplications Heard
1 Of David.
To you I call out, O Lord, my Rock;[b]
do not turn a deaf ear to my cry.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my voice in supplication
as I plead for your help,
as I lift up my hands[c]
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil,
who talk of peace to their neighbors
while treachery is in their hearts.[d]
4 [e]Repay them as their deeds deserve
in accordance with the evil they inflict;
repay them for the works of their hands
and heap upon them what they justly deserve.
5 Since they have paid no heed to the deeds of the Lord
or to the works of his hands,
he will strike them down
and refuse to restore them.
6 Blessed[f] be the Lord,
for he has heard my cry of supplication.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart[g] places its trust in him.
He has helped me, and I exult;
then with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people,
the refuge where his anointed one[h] finds salvation.
9 Save your people and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd[i] and sustain them forever.
9 Therefore, justice is far removed from us,
and righteousness is far beyond our reach.
We look for light but behold only darkness,
for brightness but we walk in gloom.
10 Like blind men we grope along a wall,
feeling our way like those bereft of eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight;
in the midst of the strong we are like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears;
like doves we continue to moan mournfully.
We wait for justice but receive none,
for deliverance but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions against you are numerous,
and our sins bear witness against us.
We are unable to forget our offenses,
and we are well aware of our iniquities:
13 our rebellion and our denial of the Lord
and our turning away from following him,
threatening acts of oppression and revolt,
and uttering lies conceived in our hearts.
14 Justice has been rebuffed
and righteousness stands at a distance.
For truth stumbles in the public square
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth has disappeared,
and those who turn from evil are terrorized.
Zion’s Redeemer Comes
When the Lord witnessed this, he was displeased
that justice had ceased to exist.
16 He saw that no help was in sight,
and he was outraged that no one sought to intervene.
Therefore, his own arm effected the victory,
with his righteousness as his support.
17 He put on justice like a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of zeal.
18 He will repay his enemies
according to their deeds:
wrath to his adversaries,
retribution to his enemies;
he will render requital
to the islands and the coastlands.
19 And so those in the west will fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east his glory.
He will come like a pent-up stream
that is driven by the breath of the Lord.
Chapter 2
1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all deceit, hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may advance on the path to salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Mystery of the Church.[a] 4 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious. 5 You, too, are like living stones, being built up into a spiritual temple and a holy priesthood[b] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it states in Scripture,
“See, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone chosen and precious.
Whoever believes in it
will not be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, it is precious to you who believe. However, for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the word—for this they were born.[c]
9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people claimed by God as his own possession,” so that you may proclaim the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
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