Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 27
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom will I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom will I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
to eat my flesh—
my enemies and my foes—
they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army should encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
though war should rise against me,
in this will I be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord,
that will I seek after—
for me to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He will hide me in His pavilion;
in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me;
He will set me up on a rock.
6 Now my head will be lifted up
above my enemies encircling me;
therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face far from me;
do not thrust Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help.
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 If my father and my mother forsake me,
then the Lord will take me in.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
and lead me in an upright path,
because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my enemies;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
13 I believe
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord;
be strong, and may your heart be stout;
wait on the Lord.
The Branch of the Lord
2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those of Israel who have escaped. 3 He who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and has purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst by the spirit of justice and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory shall be a covering. 6 There shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and from rain.
Peter’s Report to the Church in Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised disputed with him, 3 saying, “You went in and ate with uncircumcised men!”
4 Peter began explaining it to them in order, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying. And in a trance I saw a vision: A vessel like a great sheet was descending, let down from heaven by four corners, and it came to me. 6 I considered what I had observed and saw four-footed creatures and wild beasts and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’
8 “I said, ‘Not at all, Lord. For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times. And again everything was taken up into heaven.
11 “And immediately three men sent from Caesarea to me came to the house where I was. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. Moreover these six brothers came with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter. 14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[a] 17 If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
18 When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.