Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 50[a]
The Acceptable Sacrifice
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.(A)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.(B)
3 Our God comes and will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
it rages strongly around him.(C)
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather my loyal ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is the judge.(D)
Selah
II
7 “Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
your burnt offerings are always before me.
IV
22 “Now understand this, you who forget God,
lest I start ripping apart and there be no rescuer.
23 Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me;
I will let him whose way is steadfast
look upon the salvation of God.”(A)
8 And all the people know it—
Ephraim and those who dwell in Samaria—
those who say in arrogance and pride of heart,
9 “Bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stone;
Sycamores have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”(A)
10 So the Lord raises up their foes against them
and stirs up their enemies to action—
11 Aram[a] from the east and the Philistines from the west—
they devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
and his hand is still outstretched!
12 The people do not turn back to the one who struck them,
nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
13 So the Lord cuts off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day.(B)
14 (The elder and the noble are the head,
the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.)(C)
15 Those who lead this people lead them astray,
and those who are led are swallowed up.(D)
16 That is why the Lord does not spare their young men,
and their orphans and widows he does not pity;
For they are totally impious and wicked,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
17 For wickedness burns like fire,
devouring brier and thorn;
It kindles the forest thickets,
which go up in columns of smoke.(E)
V. Jews and Gentiles in God’s Plan[a]
Chapter 9
Paul’s Love for Israel.[b] 1 I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the holy Spirit in bearing me witness(A) 2 that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh.(B) 4 They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;(C) 5 theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all[c] be blessed forever. Amen.(D)
God’s Free Choice. 6 But it is not that the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel,(E) 7 nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.”(F) 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants.(G) 9 For this is the wording of the promise, “About this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son.”(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.