Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
Thanking the Lord for Victory
1 Our Lord, your mighty power
makes the king glad,
and he celebrates victories
that you have given him.
2 You did what he wanted most
and never told him “No.”
3 You truly blessed the king,
and you placed on him
a crown of finest gold.
4 He asked to live a long time,
and you promised him life
that never ends.
5 The king is highly honored.
You have let him win victories
that have made him famous.
6 You have given him blessings
that will last forever,
and you have made him glad
by being so near to him.
7 Lord Most High,
the king trusts you,
and your kindness
keeps him from defeat.
8 With your mighty arm, Lord,
you will strike down all
of your hateful enemies.
9 They will be destroyed by fire
once you are here,
and because of your anger,
flames will swallow them.
10 You will wipe their families
from the earth,
and they will disappear.
11 All their plans to harm you
will come to nothing.
12 You will make them run away
by shooting your arrows
at their faces.
13 Show your strength, Lord,
so that we may sing
and praise your power.
14 People of Israel, don't worry,
though others may say,
“Israel is only a worm!”
I am the holy God of Israel,
who saves and protects you.
15 I will let you be like a log
covered with sharp spikes.[a]
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill[b]
until they turn to dust.
16 A strong wind will scatter them
in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
The Lord Helps the Poor
17 When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the Lord God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won't forget them.
18 I will make rivers flow
on mountain peaks.
I will send streams
to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land
will flow with springs
and become a lake.
19 I will fill the desert
with all kinds of trees—
cedars, acacias, and myrtles;
olive and cypress trees;
fir trees and pines.
20 Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy Lord God of Israel,
created it all.
Paul's Work as a Missionary
14 My friends, I am sure that you are very good and that you have all the knowledge you need to teach each other. 15 But I have spoken to you plainly and have tried to remind you of some things. God treated me with undeserved grace! 16 He chose me to be a servant of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles and to do the work of a priest in the service of his good news. God did this so that the Holy Spirit could make the Gentiles into a holy offering, pleasing to him.
17 Because of Christ Jesus, I can take pride in my service for God. 18 In fact, all I will talk about is how Christ let me speak and work, so that the Gentiles would obey him. 19 Indeed, I will tell how Christ worked miracles and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have preached the good news about him all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum. 20 But I have always tried to preach where people have never heard about Christ. I am like a builder who doesn't build on someone else's foundation. 21 (A) It is just as the Scriptures say,
“All who haven't been told
about him
will see him,
and those who haven't heard
about him
will understand.”
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.