Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name.
2
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3
Who forgives all your sins,
Who heals all your diseases;
4
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;
5
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.(A)
6
The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all the oppressed.
7
He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness.(B)
9
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve],
Nor rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].
12
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13
Just as a father loves his children,
So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].
22
Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion;
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!
God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, make Jerusalem understand [the heinous and vile nature of] her repulsive (idolatrous) acts 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem (all of Israel), “Your [spiritual] origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your [spiritual] father was an [a]Amorite and your [spiritual] mother a Hittite.(A) 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing, nor were you 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; but you were thrown out in the open field, for you were loathed on the day that you were born.
6 “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your [newborn] blood, I said to you while you were there in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were there in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you (Israel) multiply like plants [which grow] in the field, and you grew up and became tall and you reached the age for [wearing] fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.
8 “Then I passed by you [again] and looked on you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore [an oath] to you and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord God, “and you became Mine.” 9 “Then I washed you with water; yes, I [thoroughly] washed away from you the [clinging] blood and anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of [b]porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments and I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a ring in your nostril and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was [made] of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil; so you were extremely beautiful and you advanced and prospered into royalty. 14 Then your fame went out among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My majesty and splendor which I bestowed on you,” says the Lord God.
All the World Guilty
3 Then what is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God [His very [a]words].(A) 3 What then? If some did not believe or were unfaithful [to God], their lack of belief will not nullify and make invalid the faithfulness of God and His word, will it? 4 Certainly not! Let God be found true [as He will be], though every person be found a liar, just as it is written [in Scripture],
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].”(B)
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God is not wrong to inflict His wrath [on us], is He? (I am speaking in purely human terms.) 6 Certainly not! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7 But [as you might say] if through my lie God’s truth was magnified and abounded to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, (as some slanderously report and claim that we teach) “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? Their condemnation [by God] is just.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.