Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And (C)forget none of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your iniquities,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord (J)performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (K)oppressed.
7 He (L)made known His ways to Moses,
His (M)acts to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He (P)will not always strive with us,
Nor will He (Q)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just (U)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
22 Bless the Lord, (A)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, (A)make known to Jerusalem her abominations 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord [a]God to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, (B)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the [b](C)open field, [c]for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
6 “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I (D)made you [d]numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.
8 “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, [e]you were at the time for love; so I (E)spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also (F)swore to you and (G)entered into a covenant with you so that you (H)became Mine,” declares the Lord God. 9 “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and (I)anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with (J)embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, put (K)bracelets on your hands and a (L)necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a (M)ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a (N)beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with (O)gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to (P)royalty. 14 Then your (Q)fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was (R)perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.
All the World Guilty
3 Then what [a]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that (A)they were entrusted with the (B)oracles of God. 3 What then? If (C)some [b]did not believe, their [c]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 (D)May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found (E)a liar, as it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness [e](G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, (H)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? ((I)I am speaking in human terms.) 6 (J)May it never be! For otherwise, how will (K)God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie (L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, (M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “(N)Let us do evil that good may come”? [f]Their condemnation is just.
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