◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 20 (Answer us when we call); Isaiah 26:1-9 (Trust in God forever); 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (The temporary and the eternal) (New Catholic Bible)

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December 30, 2022

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 20

Psalm 20^[a]

Prayer in Praise of the Messiah King

¹For the director.^[b] A psalm of David.

²May the Lord answer you in times of trouble;
    may the name^[c] of the God of Jacob protect you.
³May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and grant you support from Zion.^[d]
⁴May he remember^[e] all your sacrifices
    and accept all your burnt offerings. Selah
⁵May he give you your heart’s desire^[f]
    and grant you success in all your plans.
⁶May we shout with joy over your victory
    and lift up our banners in the name of our God.^[g]
May the Lord grant your every request.
⁷Now I know that the Lord will grant victory to his anointed;^[h]
    he will answer him from his holy heaven,
    granting mighty victories with his right hand.
⁸^[i]Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God.
⁹They will collapse and fall,
    but we will rise up and stand firm.
¹⁰O Lord, save the king,
    and answer us when we call upon you.^[j]

Footnotes

Psalm 20:1 During a liturgy of prayer for the king just before he engages in battle with a powerful foe (2 Chr 20:6), the people (perhaps the assembled soldiers) pray for their king: is he not a “messiah,” that is, an “anointed one” of the Lord (v. 7) and the head of the chosen people of the God of Jacob (v. 3)? A choir chants the petition (vv. 3-6) and a soloist (perhaps a Levite: see 2 Chr 20:14) responds (vv. 7-9); he announces assurance that the prayer will be heard, for Israel does not rely on the force of arms as its pagan neighbors do but on its God and Savior. Thus, the people already celebrate the coming triumph of the Lord.
In praying this psalm, we can ask the Father to grant the integral victory of Christ in his mystical members, just as he gained it in and for himself (see 1 Cor 15:22f). For the Father is the accomplisher of all things (see Rom 11:36).
Psalm 20:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.
Psalm 20:2 Name: see notes on Pss 5:12; 8:2, 10. Protect you: literally, “raise you to a high, safe place.”
Psalm 20:3 Zion: see note on Ps 9:12.
Psalm 20:4 Remember: with God, remembering and acting go together (see Gen 8:1; Ex 2:24).
Psalm 20:5 Heart’s desire: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 20:6 May we shout . . . name of our God: see note on Ps 7:18. The Hebrew word for “victory” could also be translated as “salvation.”
Psalm 20:7 His anointed: i.e., the king of Israel (see Pss 2:2; 132:10); the divine help is his as intrinsic to his kingship (see Ps 18:51). See note on Ps 2:2.
Psalm 20:8 The force of arms is useless in the face of the divine power. The Prophets were always against the use of horses and chariots in Israel, in imitation of the neighboring pagans (see Deut 17:16; Isa 31:1; Hos 1:7; Mic 5:10; Zec 12:4). The same affirmation occurs in Pss 33:16f; 147:10; Prov 21:31. A similar expression of confidence in the Lord rather than in human weaponry is made by David when facing Goliath (1 Sam 17:45-47).
Psalm 20:10 The psalm ends in the same way as it began—with fervent prayers that the Lord will come to the aid of the king.

Isaiah 26:1-9

Chapter 26

A Song of Victory. ¹On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strongly fortified city,
    with walls and ramparts established to protect us.
²Open the gates
    to allow the upright nation to enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³O Lord, you grant peace to those who are steadfast
    because of their trust in you.
⁴Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord is an eternal rock.
⁵He has brought low those in high places
    and leveled their citadel,
casting it down to the ground
    and flinging it down to the dust,
⁶to be trampled underfoot
    by the feet of the poor and the oppressed.
⁷The path of the righteous is smooth,
    for you make level the way of the just.
⁸As we proceed in the path of your judgments,
    we wait for you, O Lord;
your name and your renown
    are all that our heart desires.
⁹My soul longs for you throughout the night,
    and my spirit within me seeks your presence.
For when your judgments are revealed to the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn to practice justice.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

¹⁶An Eternal Dwelling in Heaven. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷Our temporary light afflictions are preparing for us an incomparable weight of eternal glory, ¹⁸for our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)