Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 56

To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Silent Dove Among Those Far Away.” Of David. A record of memorable thoughts when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

¹ Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, for man would trample me or devour me; all the day long the adversary oppresses me.

² They that lie in wait for me would swallow me up or trample me all day long, for they are many who fight against me, O Most High!

³ What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.

⁴ By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?

⁵ All day long they twist my words and trouble my affairs; all their thoughts are against me for evil and my hurt.

⁶ They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they watch my steps, even as they have [expectantly] waited for my life.

⁷ They think to escape with iniquity, and shall they? In Your indignation bring down the peoples, O God.

⁸ You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle—are they not in Your book?

⁹ Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me.^(A)

¹⁰ In God, Whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose word I praise,

¹¹ In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

¹² Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praise to You and give You thank offerings.

¹³ For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living.

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to him:

⁹ Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.

¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.

¹² And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it—and die.

¹³ Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as you have said. But make me a little cake of [it] first and bring it to me, and afterward prepare some for yourself and your son.

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not waste away or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.

¹⁵ She did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

¹⁶ The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the word which the Lord spoke through Elijah.

⁶ Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.

⁷ But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

⁸ None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹ But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [^[a]who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].^(A)

¹⁰ Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the ^[b]divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny].

¹¹ For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

¹² Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.

¹³ And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].

¹⁴ But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

¹⁵ But the spiritual man tries all things [he ^[c]examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].

¹⁶ For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.^(B)