Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord
2 (B)Clouds and darkness surround Him;
(C)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (D)A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
4 (E)His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
5 (F)The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 (G)The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
7 (H)Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
(I)Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You, Lord, are (J)most high above all the earth;
(K)You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, (L)hate evil!
(M)He preserves the souls of His saints;
(N)He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 (O)Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 (P)Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
(Q)And give thanks [b]at the remembrance of [c]His holy name.
The Command to Leave Sinai
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you (A)and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, (B)‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 (C)And I will send My Angel before you, (D)and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up (E)to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest (F)I [a]consume you on the way, for you are a (G)stiff-necked[b] people.”
4 And when the people heard this bad news, (H)they mourned, (I)and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your [c]ornaments, that I may (J)know what to do to you.’ ” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [a]apprehended; but one thing I do, (A)forgetting those things which are behind and (B)reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 (C)I press toward the goal for the prize of (D)the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are (E)mature, (F)have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, (G)God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already [b]attained, (H)let us walk (I)by the same [c]rule, let us be of the same mind.
Our Citizenship in Heaven
17 Brethren, (J)join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as (K)you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are (L)the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 (M)whose end is destruction, (N)whose god is their belly, and (O)whose glory is in their shame—(P)who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For (Q)our citizenship is in heaven, (R)from which we also (S)eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 (T)who will transform our lowly body that it may be (U)conformed to His glorious body, (V)according to the working by which He is able even to (W)subdue all things to Himself.
Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts
4 Therefore, my beloved and (X)longed-for brethren, (Y)my joy and crown, so (Z)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.