Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 27
The Stronghold of My Life
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By David.
Safe in God’s Stronghold
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
3 If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.
Happy in God’s Temple
4 One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to seek him in his temple.[a]
5 Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Confident in Prayer
7 Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
8 When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
10 If my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.
Walking in God’s Path
11 Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.
At Home in God’s Land
13 Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living—[b]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!
Instruction From the Prophet:
The Covenant Is Broken by Divorce
10 Don’t we all have one Father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why then do we violate our vows to each other, polluting the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has acted unfaithfully. A detestable thing was done in Israel and in Jerusalem when Judah polluted the holy place[a] of the Lord, which the Lord loves. Judah is married to the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any man who does this, both the one who is awake and the one who answers,[b] even if he brings an offering to the Lord of Armies!
13 This is the second thing you do: You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and crying, because there is no longer any favorable response to your offering, and God is not pleased with anything from your hand. 14 So you ask, “Why is this happening?” This is why—because the Lord is a witness in the case between you and the wife you married when you were young, because you have betrayed her—though she was your partner, the wife with whom you made a covenant! 15 No one has done this who has a remnant of the Spirit.[c] And why one? He is seeking offspring from God.[d] So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not act unfaithfully against the wife you married when you were young. 16 He hates divorce! That is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. He hates it when a person wears violence as a garment. That is what the Lord of Armies says. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be unfaithful.
17 You have made the Lord weary with your words. You say, “How have we made him weary?” Whenever you say that anyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s eyes or that the Lord takes pleasure in evildoers. Or whenever you say, “Where is the God of justice?”
An Oracle From the Lord About the Messiah
3 Look! I am sending my messenger![e] He will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple! The Messenger of the Covenant,[f] in whom you delight, will surely come, says the Lord of Armies.
The Angel Gabriel Appears to Zechariah
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous decrees of the Lord. 7 They did not have a child because Elizabeth was unable to bear children, and they were both well along in years. 8 On one occasion, while Zechariah was serving as priest before God and his division was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 The whole crowd of people were praying outside the temple during the hour of the incense offering.
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome by fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son for you, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 because he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.