Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 20[a]
Prayer in Praise of the Messiah King
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble;
may the name[c] of the God of Jacob protect you.
3 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.[d]
4 May he remember[e] all your sacrifices
and accept all your burnt offerings. Selah
5 May he give you your heart’s desire[f]
and grant you success in all your plans.
6 May 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.
7 Now 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.
9 They will collapse and fall,
but we will rise up and stand firm.
10 O Lord, save the king,
and answer us when we call upon you.[j]
7 When Jotham was told about it, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out, “Listen to me, O men of Shechem, so that God might listen to you. 8 Once the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Why should I give up my oil, with which God and men are honored, to go and hold sway over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Why should I give up my sweetness and my good fruit to go and hold sway over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Why should I give up my wine which cheers both God and man[a] to go and hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all of the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 The bramble said to the trees, ‘If you truly intend to anoint me as your king, then come, and take refuge in my shade. If not, then let fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
Behold the Antichrist[a]
18 Dear children,
this is the last hour.
You have heard that the Antichrist was coming,
and now many antichrists have already come.[b]
Thus, we know
that it is the final hour.
19 They went out from us,
but they never really belonged to us.
If they had belonged to us,
they would have remained with us.
By departing from us,
they made it clear
that none of them belonged to us.
20 However, you have been anointed
by the Holy One,[c]
and you all have knowledge.
21 I write to you
not because you do not know the truth
but because you do know it,
and because no lie can come from the truth.
22 Who is the liar
but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
The antichrist is
anyone who denies both the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son
does not have the Father,
but whoever acknowledges the Son
has the Father also.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning
remain in you.
If what you heard from the beginning
remains in you,
then you will remain in the Son
and in the Father
25 And this is the promise he made to us:
eternal life.
26 I write these things to you
in reference to those
who seek to lead you astray.
27 But as for you,
the anointing you received from him
remains in you,
and therefore you do not need anyone
to teach you.
This same anointing
teaches you everything
and is true and not false,
so abide in him just as he taught you.
28 And now, dear children,
abide in him,
so that when he appears
we may have confidence
and not be put to shame by him
at his coming.
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