Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Psalm for the dedication of the Temple.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
30 I exalt you, Lord,
for you have lifted me up,
and my enemies could not gloat over me.
2 Lord, my God!
I cried out to you for help
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you brought me from death;[a]
you kept me alive so that I did not descend into the Pit.[b]
4 You, his godly ones,
sing to the Lord,
give thanks at the mention of his holiness.
5 For his wrath is only momentary;
yet his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may lodge for the night,
but shouts of joy will come in the morning.
6 As for me,
I said in my prosperity,
“I will never be moved.”
7 By your favor, Lord,
you established me as a strong mountain;
Then you hid your face,
and I was dismayed.
8 I cried out to you, Lord,
and I make supplication to the Lord:
9 “What profit is there in my death[c] if I go down to the Pit?[d]
Can dust worship you?
Can it proclaim your faithfulness?”
10 Hear me, Lord,
and have mercy on me!
Lord, help me!
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with a garment of joy,
12 so that I may sing praise to you
and not remain silent.
Lord, my God,
I will give you thanks forever!
Judgment on Alcoholics
11 “How terrible it will be for those who rise at dawn
in order to grab[a] a stiff drink,
for those who stay up late at night
as wine inflames them!
12 They have the lyre and harp,
the tambourine and flute,
as well as wine at their festivals,
but they don’t respect what the Lord is doing,
nor do they consider his actions.[b]
13 Therefore my people go into exile
because they lack understanding;
my[c] honored men go hungry,
and the crowd is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol’s[d] appetite has grown;
it has opened its mouth beyond limit.
Jerusalem’s nobility and her multitudes will go there,
along with her brawlers and whoever is reveling within her.
15 Humanity is brought low,
and each one is humbled,
while the eyes of the self-exalting are brought low.
16 But the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is exalted in justice,
and the Holy God proves himself to be righteously holy.
17 Then the lambs will graze in their pasture;
fatlings and foreigners will eat
among the waste places of the rich.”
The Letter to the Church in Laodicea
14 “To the messenger[a] of the church in Laodicea, write:
‘The Amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the originator of God’s creation, says this:
15 ‘I know your actions, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. 16 Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don’t need anything.” Yet you don’t realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. 18 Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won’t show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see. 19 I correct and discipline those whom I love, so be serious and repent! 20 Look! I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat[b] with me. 21 I will give a place to sit with me on my throne to the one who overcomes,[c] just as I have overcome[d] and have sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 ‘Let everyone[e] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.