Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jerusalem, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 It is high and beautiful
and brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north;
it is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its palaces;
he is known as its defender.
4 Kings joined together
and came to attack the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were amazed.
They ran away in fear.
6 Fear took hold of them;
they hurt like a woman having a baby.
7 You destroyed the large trading ships
with an east wind.
8 First we heard
and now we have seen
that God will always keep his city safe.
It is the city of the Lord All-Powerful,
the city of our God. Selah
9 God, we come into your Temple
to think about your love.
10 God, your name is known everywhere;
all over the earth people praise you.
Your right hand is full of goodness.
11 Mount Zion is happy
and all the towns of Judah rejoice,
because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 Notice how strong they are.
Look at the palaces.
Then you can tell your children about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people with Joab, “Tear your clothes and put on rough cloth to show how sad you are. Cry for Abner.” King David himself followed the body of Abner. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and David and all the people cried at Abner’s grave.
33 King David sang this funeral song for Abner.
“Did Abner die like a fool?
34 His hands were not tied.
His feet were not in chains.
He fell at the hands of evil men.”
Then all the people cried again for Abner. 35 They came to encourage David to eat while it was still day. But he made a promise, saying, “May God punish me terribly if I eat bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
36 All the people saw what happened, and they agreed with what the king was doing, just as they agreed with everything he did. 37 That day all the people of Judah and Israel understood that David did not order the killing of Abner son of Ner.
38 David said to his officers, “You know that a great man died today in Israel.
People Want to Follow Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you any place you go.”
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in, and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest his head.”
21 Another man, one of Jesus’ followers, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.