Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Help
126 It was like a dream when the Lord brought back to Zion those who had been held in another land. 2 Then we laughed with our mouths, and we sang with our tongues. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad.
4 Bring back our people, O Lord, like the rivers in the South. 5 Those who plant with tears will gather fruit with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out crying as he carries his bag of seed will return with songs of joy as he brings much grain with him.
2 I will take my stand and keep watch. I will take my place on the tower. And I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say, and how I should answer when He speaks strong words to me.
The Lord’s Answer to Habakkuk
2 Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the special dream on stone so that one may read it in a hurry. 3 For it is not yet time for it to come true. The time is coming in a hurry, and it will come true. If you think it is slow in coming, wait for it. For it will happen for sure, and it will not wait. 4 As for the proud one, his soul is not right in him. But the one who is right and good will live by his faith.
It Is Bad for the Wrong-Doers
5 “Also, wine fools the proud man, so he does not stay at home. He is like the grave who always wants more. Like death, he never has enough. He gathers all nations for himself, and gathers all people for his own.
Christ Must Be Lord of Our Lives
7 But I gave up those things that were so important to me for Christ. 8 Even more than that, I think of everything as worth nothing. It is so much better to know Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for Him. And I think of these things as worth nothing so that I can have Christ. 9 I want to be as one with Him. I could not be right with God by what the Law said I must do. I was made right with God by faith in Christ. 10 I want to know Him. I want to have the same power in my life that raised Jesus from the dead. I want to understand and have a share in His sufferings and be like Christ in His death. 11 Then I may be raised up from among the dead.
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