Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise for God’s Love

103 Praise the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, praise His holy name. ² Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. ³ He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. ⁴ He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. ⁵ He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle.

⁶ The Lord does what is right and fair for all who suffer under a bad power. ⁷ He made His ways known to Moses and His acts to the people of Israel. ⁸ The Lord is full of loving-pity and kindness. He is slow to anger and has much loving-kindness. ⁹ He will not always keep after us. And He will not keep His anger back forever. ¹⁰ He has not punished us enough for all our sins. He has not paid us back for all our wrong-doings. ¹¹ For His loving-kindness for those who fear Him is as great as the heavens are high above the earth. ¹² He has taken our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. ¹³ The Lord has loving-pity on those who fear Him, as a father has loving-pity on his children.

²² Praise the Lord, all His works in all places under His rule. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Jerusalem—Not Faithful

16 The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her hated sins. ³ Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: “Your beginning and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite. Your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ On the day you were born the cord between you and your mother was not cut. You were not washed with water to make you clean. You were not rubbed with salt or even covered with cloth. ⁵ No one looked with pity on you or did any of these things for you out of loving-kindness. Instead you were thrown out into the open field, for you were hated on the day you were born.

⁶ “When I passed by you and saw you rolling about in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I made you become many, like plants of the field. Then you grew up and became tall. You grew into a beautiful woman. You had breasts and your hair had grown. Yet you were not covered and your body could be seen. ⁸ Then I passed by you and saw that you were old enough for love. So I spread my clothing over you and covered your body. I gave you my promise and made an agreement with you so that you became Mine,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “Then I washed you with water, washed the blood from you, and poured oil on you. ¹⁰ I dressed you with beautiful cloth, and put leather shoes on your feet. I dressed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I put on you objects of beauty. I put beautiful objects on your arms and around your neck. ¹² I put rings in your nose and in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were dressed with gold and silver. Your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and beautiful cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. So you were very beautiful, and you became a queen. ¹⁴ Your name became known among the nations because of your beauty. For it was perfect because of My shining-greatness which I had given to you,” says the Lord God.

3 Do the Jews have anything that those who are not Jews do not have? What good does it do to go through the religious act of becoming a Jew? ² Yes, the Jews have much more in every way. First of all, God gave the Jews His Law. ³ If some of them were not faithful, does it mean that God will not be faithful? ⁴ No, not at all! God is always true even if every man lies. The Holy Writings say, “Speak the truth and you will not be proven guilty.” ^(A)

⁵ If our sins show how right God is, what can we say? Is it wrong for God to punish us for it? (I am speaking as men do.) ⁶ No, not at all! If it were wrong for God to punish us, how could He judge the world? ⁷ If my lies honor God by showing how true He is, why am I still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ Why not say, “Let us sin that good will come from it.” (Some people have said I talk like this!) They will be punished as they should be.