Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
21 The king finds joy in your strength, O Lord.
What great joy he has in your victory!
2 You gave him his heart’s desire.
You did not refuse the prayer from his lips. Selah
3 You welcomed him with the blessings of good things
and set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life.
You gave him a long life, forever and ever.
5 Because of your victory his glory is great.
You place splendor and majesty on him.
6 Yes, you made him a blessing forever.
You made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 Indeed, the king trusts the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High, he will not be moved.
8 Your hand will discover all your enemies.
Your powerful hand will find all who hate you.
9 When you appear, you will make them ⌞burn⌟ like a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his anger.
Fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their children from the earth
and their offspring from among Adam’s descendants.
11 Although they scheme and plan evil against you,
they will not succeed.
12 They turn their backs ⌞and flee⌟
because you aim your bow at their faces.
13 Arise, O Lord, in your strength.
We will sing and make music to praise your power.
The Lord’s Great Triumph
24 The Lord is going to turn the earth into a desolate wasteland.
He will mar the face of the earth and scatter the people living on it.
2 The same will happen to people and priests,
male slaves and masters,
female slaves and masters,
buyers and sellers,
lenders and borrowers,
debtors and creditors.
3 The earth will be completely laid waste and stripped
because the Lord has spoken.
4 The earth dries up and withers.
The world wastes away and withers.
The great leaders of the earth waste away.
5 The earth is polluted by those who live on it
because they’ve disobeyed the Lord’s teachings,
violated his laws,
and rejected the everlasting promise.[a]
6 That is why a curse devours the earth,
and its people are punished for their guilt.
That is why those who live on the earth are burned up,
and only a few people are left.
7 New wine dries up, and grapevines waste away.
All happy people groan.
8 Joyful tambourine music stops.
Noisy celebrations cease.
Joyful harp music stops.
9 People no longer drink wine when they sing.
Liquor tastes bad to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate.
The entrance to every house is barred shut.
11 People in the streets call for wine.
All joy passes away,
and the earth’s happiness is banished.
12 The city is left in ruins.
Its gate is battered to pieces.
13 That is the way it will be on earth among the nations.
They will be like an olive tree which has been shaken
or like what’s left after the grape harvest.
14 They raise their voices.
They shout for joy.
From the sea they sing joyfully about the Lord’s majesty.
15 Honor the Lord in the east.
Honor the name of the Lord God of Israel along the coastlands.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise
that honor the Righteous One.
But I kept saying,
“I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away!
How horrible it is for me!
Traitors continue to betray,
and their treachery grows worse and worse.”
Instructions on the Way Christians Should Live
4 Now then, brothers and sisters, because of the Lord Jesus we ask and encourage you to excel in living a God-pleasing life even more than you already do. Do this the way we taught you. 2 You know what orders we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you keep away from sexual sin as a mark of your devotion to him. 4 Each of you should know that finding a husband or wife for yourself is to be done in a holy and honorable way, 5 not in the passionate, lustful way of people who don’t know God. 6 No one should take advantage of or exploit other believers that way. The Lord is the one who punishes people for all these things. We’ve already told you and warned you about this. 7 God didn’t call us to be sexually immoral but to be holy. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this ⌞order⌟ is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 You don’t need anyone to write to you about the way Christians should love each other. God has taught you to love each other. 10 In fact, you are showing love to all the Christians throughout the province of Macedonia. We encourage you as believers to excel in love even more. 11 Also, make it your goal to live quietly, do your work, and earn your own living, as we ordered you. 12 Then your way of life will win respect from those outside ⌞the church⌟, and you won’t have to depend on anyone else for what you need.
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