Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for National Victory after Defeat
To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, thou hast rejected us, broken our defenses;
thou hast been angry; oh, restore us.
2 Thou hast made the land to quake, thou hast rent it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 Thou hast made thy people suffer hard things;
thou hast given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4 Thou hast set up a banner for those who fear thee,
to rally to it from the bow.[a]Selah
5 That thy beloved may be delivered,
give victory by thy right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[b]
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manas′seh is mine;
E′phraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Hast thou not rejected us, O God?
Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 O grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the help of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
A Plea for Repentance
14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept that which is good
and we will render
the fruit[a] of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us,
we will not ride upon horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In thee the orphan finds mercy.”
Assurance of Forgiveness
4 I will heal their faithlessness;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be as the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom as the lily,
he shall strike root as the poplar;[b]
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my[c] shadow,
they shall flourish as a garden;[d]
they shall blossom as the vine,
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O E′phraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[e]
I am like an evergreen cypress,
from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
Do Not Worry
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. 30 For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his[c] kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.