Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(A)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(B)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(C)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(D)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(E)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(F)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(G)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(H)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(I)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(J)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(K)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(L)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(M)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(N)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(O)
do not let them rule over me.(P)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(Q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(R)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(S)
24 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth.(A)
25 Strike a mocker, and the inexperienced learn a lesson;(B)
rebuke the discerning, and he gains knowledge.(C)
26 The one who assaults his father and evicts his mother
is a disgraceful and shameful son.
27 If you stop listening to correction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks justice,
and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.(D)
29 Judgments are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.(E)
17 In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.”[a] Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works.[b](A) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.(B)
20 Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected.(C) 23 So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,(D)[c] and he was called God’s friend.(E) 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route?(F) 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
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