Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to praise you, Lord,
to sing praises to God Most High.
2 It is good to tell of your love in the morning
and of your loyalty at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and with the soft-sounding harp.
4 Lord, you have made me happy by what you have done;
I will sing for joy about what your hands have done.
5 Lord, you have done such great things!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 Stupid people don’t know these things,
and fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people grow like the grass.
Evil people seem to do well,
but they will be destroyed forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will be destroyed,
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as an ox.
You have poured fine oils on me.
11 When I looked, I saw my enemies;
I heard the cries of those who are against me.
12 But good people will grow like palm trees;
they will be tall like the cedars of Lebanon.
13 Like trees planted in the Temple of the Lord,
they will grow strong in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and fresh.
15 They will say that the Lord is good.
He is my Rock, and there is no wrong in him.
3 “‘If you remember my laws and commands and obey them, 4 I will give you rains at the right season; the land will produce crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat and live safely in your land. 6 I will give peace to your country; you will lie down in peace, and no one will make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country, and armies will not pass through it.
7 “‘You will chase your enemies and defeat them, killing them with your sword. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred men; a hundred of you will chase ten thousand men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.
9 “‘Then I will show kindness to you and let you have many children; I will keep my agreement with you. 10 You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. When you harvest the new crops, you will have to throw out the old ones to make room for them. 11 Also I will place my Holy Tent among you, and I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk with you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. I broke the heavy weights that were on your shoulders and let you walk proudly again.
Punishment for Not Obeying God
14 “‘But if you do not obey me and keep all my commands, 15 and if you turn away from my rules and hate my laws, refusing to obey all my commands, you have broken our agreement. 16 As a result, I will do this to you: I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever that will destroy your eyes and slowly kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed, and your enemy will eat your crops. 17 I will be against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These people who hate you will rule over you, and you will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “‘If after all this you still do not obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break your great pride, and I will make the sky like iron and the earth like bronze.[a] 20 You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not grow any crops, and your trees will not give their fruit.
A Life that Pleases God
4 Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way even more. 2 You know what we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual sins. 4 He wants each of you to learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable. 5 Don’t use your body for sexual sin like the people who do not know God. 6 Also, do not wrong or cheat another Christian in this way. The Lord will punish people who do those things as we have already told you and warned you. 7 God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin. 8 So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is disobeying God, not simply a human teaching. And God is the One who gives us his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.