Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless the name of his holiness.

² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

³ Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases;

⁴ who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion;

⁵ who satisfies thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ ¶ The LORD executes righteousness and justice unto all that suffer violence.

⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the sons of Israel.

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

³² And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered firewood upon the sabbath day.

³³ And those that found him gathering firewood brought him unto Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation.

³⁴ And they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him.

³⁵ And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.

³⁶ Then all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died, as the LORD commanded Moses.

³⁷ ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

³⁸ Speak unto the sons of Israel and bid them that they make for themselves fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue.

³⁹ And it shall be unto you for a fringe that ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, seeking after which ye fornicate.

⁴⁰ That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

⁴¹ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I AM your God.

³ For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied in your souls and faint.

⁴ ¶ Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, fighting against sin.

⁵ And ye have quite forgotten the consolation which speaks unto you as unto sons, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of him:

⁶ for whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges everyone whom he receives as a son.

⁷ If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father does not chasten?

⁸ But if ye are without chastisement, of which all the sons are partakers, then ye are bastards, and not sons.

⁹ Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence; is it not much better to be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and we shall live?

¹⁰ For they verily for a few days chastened us as it seemed good unto them, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

¹¹ It is true that no chastening at present seems to be cause for joy, but rather for grief; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised by it.

¹² Therefore, lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

¹³ and make straight steps unto your feet, so that which is lame will not turn out of the way, but let it rather be healed.

¹⁴ Follow peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord:

¹⁵ looking diligently that no one deviate from the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up impede you, and thereby many be defiled,

¹⁶ lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

¹⁷ For ye know how that afterward, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.