Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 29

A psalm of David.

2 I said to myself,^[a] Come, I will make you^[b] experience pleasure; enjoy what is good! But this too was pointless! ² Merriment, I thought, is madness; pleasure, of no use at all. ³ I tried cheering myself with wine and by embracing folly—with wisdom still guiding me—until I might see what is really worth doing in the few days that human beings have under heaven.

⁴ I took on great projects: I built houses for myself, planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself, planting every kind of fruit tree in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs for myself to water my lush groves. ⁷ I acquired male servants and female servants; I even had slaves born in my house. I also had great herds of cattle and sheep, more than any who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, the treasures of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers for myself, along with every human luxury, treasure chests galore!^{[c] 9} So I became far greater than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Moreover, my wisdom stood by me. ¹⁰ I refrained from nothing that my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. Indeed, my heart found pleasure from the results of my hard work; that was the reward from all my hard work. ¹¹ But when I surveyed all that my hands had done, and what I had worked so hard to achieve, I realized that it was pointless—a chasing after wind. Nothing is to be gained under the sun.

2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I didn’t come preaching God’s secrets to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. ² I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. ³ I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. ⁴ My message and my preaching weren’t presented with convincing wise words but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. ⁵ I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God.

Definition of wisdom

⁶ What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. ⁷ We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. ⁸ It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! ⁹ But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being.^{[a] 10} God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God.