Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 Celebrate, you people of Zion!
Rejoice in the Lord your God,
because he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness.[a]
He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains,[b] as he did in the beginning.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain.
The vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
The Lord’s Promise
25 I will repay you for the years eaten by the swarming locusts,
by the young locusts, the mature locusts, and the grasshoppers,[c]
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat.
You will eat until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you.
Never again will my people be put to shame!
27 Then you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other.
Never again will my people be put to shame!
28 After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.[d]
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams.
Your young men will see visions.
29 Even on the servants, both male and female,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show warning signs in the heavens and on the earth:
blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the great and terrifying day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.[e]
So on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has promised, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
Psalm 65
A Thanksgiving Psalm: You Crown the Year With Goodness
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David. A song.
Introduction
1 Praise waits for you,[a] O God, in Zion.
To you vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who hear prayer, to you all mortals[b] will come.
Spiritual Blessings
3 The record of my guilt overpowered me.
You atone for our rebellious acts.
4 How blessed is the one you choose and bring near!
He will dwell in your courtyards.
We will be satisfied by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
Blessings on the Nations
5 In righteousness you answer us with awesome deeds,
O God who saves us.
He is trusted by all the farthest ends of the earth and the sea.
6 He establishes the mountains by his power.
He has wrapped himself with strength.
7 He stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the peoples.
8 Those living at the ends of the earth fear your signs.
From sunrise to sunset you let them shout for joy.
Blessings of the Harvest
9 You visit the earth and water it.
You make it very rich.
God’s stream is filled with water.
You provide grain for them, just as you planned.
10 You drench the land’s furrows. You flatten its plowed ground.
You soften it with showers. You bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your goodness.
The tracks made by your carts overflow with riches.[c]
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip.
The hills are wrapped with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks.
The valleys are dressed with grain.
They shout for joy. Yes! They sing.
Paul’s Farewell
6 You see, I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing.
16 At my first hearing, no one came to my defense, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles would hear it, and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.’
13 “However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.