Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
81 1 An exhortation to praise God both in heart and voice for his benefits, 8 and to worship him only. 11 God condemneth their ingratitude, 12 and showeth what great benefit they have lost through their own malice.
To him that excelleth upon [a]Gittith. A Psalm committeth to Asaph.
1 Sing [b]joyfully unto God our strength: sing loud unto the God of Jacob.
10 (For I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:) [a]open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hear my voice, and Israel would none of me,
12 So I gave them up unto the hardness of their heart, and they have walked in their own counsels.
13 [b]Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I would soon have humbled their enemies, and turned mine hand [c]against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord should have been subject unto him, and their time [d]should have endured forever.
16 And God would have fed them with the [e]fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock would I have sufficed thee.
12 1 The Prophet marvelleth at the prosperity of the wicked, although he confess God to be righteous. 7 The Jews are forsaken of the Lord. 10 He speaketh against pastors and preachers, that seduce the people. 14 The Lord threateneth destruction unto the nations that troubled Judah.
1 O Lord, if I dispute with thee, thou art [a]righteous: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: wherefore doth the way of the wicked [b]prosper? why are all they in wealth that rebelliously transgress?
2 Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root: they grow, and bring forth fruit, thou art near in their mouth, and far from their [c]reins.
3 But thou, Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and [d]prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds, because they said, [e]He will not see our last end.
5 If thou hast run with the [f]footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou match thyself with horses? and if thou thoughtest thyself safe in a peaceable land, what wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
6 For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even they have dealt unfaithfully with thee, and they have cried out altogether upon thee: but believe them not, though they speak fair to thee.
7 I have forsaken [g]mine house: I have left mine heritage: I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies.
8 Mine heritage is unto me, as a [h]lion in the forest: it crieth out against me, therefore have I hated it.
9 Shall mine heritage be unto me, as a bird [i]of divers colors? are not the birds about her, saying, Come, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to eat her?
10 Many pastors have destroyed my [j]vineyard, and trodden my portion under foot: of my pleasant portion they have made a desolate wilderness.
11 They have laid it waste, and it, being waste mourneth unto me, and the whole land lieth waste, because no man setteth his mind on [k]it.
12 The destroyers are come upon all the high places in the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land, even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
13 [l]They have sown wheat, and reaped thorns: they were [m]sick, and had no profit: and they were ashamed of [n]your fruits, because of the fierce wrath of the Lord.
7 [a]Now the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober, and watching in prayer.
8 [b]But above all things have fervent love among you: (A)for love shall cover the multitude of sins.
9 [c]Be ye (B)harberous one to another, without grudging.
10 [d](C)Let every man as he hath received the gift, minister the same one to another, [e]as good disposers of the manifold grace of God.
11 [f]If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God ministereth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is praise and dominion forever, and ever, Amen.
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