Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 87
Zion, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.
1 His foundation is on the holy mountains.(A)
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.(B)
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.(C)
4 “I will mention those who know Me:
Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush—
each one was born there.”(D)
5 And it will be said of Zion,
“This one and that one were born in her.”
The Most High Himself will establish her.(E)
6 When He registers the peoples,
the Lord will record,
“This one was born there.”(F)
7 Singers and dancers alike will say,
“My whole source of joy is[a] in you.”(G)
Judgment of the Nations
3 [a]Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,(A)
2 I will gather all the nations(B)
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](C)
I will enter into judgment with them there(D)
because of My people, My inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries(E)
and divided up My land.(F)
3 They cast lots for My people;(G)
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.(H)
4 And also: Tyre,(I) Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia(J)—what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.(K) 5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures(L) to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks(M) to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;(N) I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,(O) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[c](P) to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
Christian Suffering
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal[a] comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.(A) 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah,(B) so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation(C) of His glory. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ,(D) you are blessed, because the Spirit(E) of glory and of God rests on you.[b] 15 None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.[c] 16 But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name. 17 For the time has come for judgment(F) to begin with God’s household,(G) and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?(H)[d]
19 So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves(I) to a faithful Creator.
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