Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise for Deliverance.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
21 O Lord, in Your strength the king will (A)be glad,
And in Your [a]salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
2 You have (B)given him his heart’s desire,
And You have not withheld the request of his lips. [b]Selah.
3 For You (C)meet him with the blessings of good things;
You set a (D)crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of You,
You (E)gave it to him,
(F)Length of days forever and ever.
5 His (G)glory is great through Your [c]salvation,
(H)Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
6 For You make him [d]most (I)blessed forever;
You make him joyful (J)with gladness in Your presence.
7 For the king (K)trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High (L)he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will (M)find out all your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them (N)as a fiery oven in the time [e]of your anger;
The Lord will (O)swallow them up in His wrath,
And (P)fire will devour them.
10 Their [f]offspring You will destroy from the earth,
And their [g](Q)descendants from among the sons of men.
11 Though they [h](R)intended evil against You
And (S)devised a plot,
They will not succeed.
12 For You will (T)make them turn their back;
You will [i]aim (U)with Your bowstrings at their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
We will (V)sing and praise Your power.
Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord (A)lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the (B)creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The (C)earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the (D)exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5 The earth is also (E)polluted [a]by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, (F)broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a (G)curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the (H)inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.
7 The (I)new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The (J)gaiety of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The gaiety of the harp ceases.
9 They do not drink wine with song;
(K)Strong drink is (L)bitter to those who drink it.
10 The (M)city of chaos is broken down;
(N)Every house is shut up so that none may enter.
11 There is an (O)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
(P)All joy [b]turns to gloom.
The gaiety of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city
And the (Q)gate is battered to ruins.
13 For (R)thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the [c]shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 (S)They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the [d]west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore (T)glorify the Lord in the [e]east,
The (U)name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
In the [f](V)coastlands of the sea.
16 From the (W)ends of the earth we hear songs, “(X)Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “[g](Y)Woe to me! [h]Woe to me! Alas for me!
The (Z)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
Sanctification and Love
4 (A)Finally then, (B)brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to [a](C)walk and (D)please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you (E)excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you [c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you (F)abstain from [d]sexual immorality; 4 that (G)each of you know how to [e]possess his own [f](H)vessel in sanctification and (I)honor, 5 not in [g](J)lustful passion, like the Gentiles who (K)do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and (L)defraud his brother (M)in the matter because (N)the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also (O)told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For (P)God has not called us for (Q)the purpose of impurity, but [h]in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who (R)gives His Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now as to the (S)love of the brethren, you (T)have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are (U)taught by God to love one another; 10 for indeed (V)you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to (W)excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition (X)to lead a quiet life and (Y)attend to your own business and (Z)work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will [i](AA)behave properly toward (AB)outsiders and [j](AC)not be in any need.
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