Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 He does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows,
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
27 Look! The Lord comes from far away.
His anger is like a fire with thick clouds of smoke.
His mouth is filled with anger,
and his tongue is like a burning fire.
28 His breath is like a rushing river,
which rises to the throat.
He will judge the nations as if he is sifting them through the strainer of destruction.
He will place in their mouths a bit that will lead them the wrong way.
29 You will sing happy songs
as on the nights you begin a festival.
You will be happy like people listening to flutes
as they come to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause all people to hear his great voice
and to see his powerful arm come down with anger,
like a great fire that burns everything,
like a great storm with much rain and hail.
31 Assyria will be afraid when it hears the voice of the Lord,
because he will strike Assyria with a rod.
32 When the Lord punishes Assyria with a rod,
he will beat them to the music of tambourines and harps;
he will fight against them with his mighty weapons.
33 Topheth[a] has been made ready for a long time;
it is ready for the king.
It was made deep and wide
with much wood and fire.
And the Lord’s breath will come
like a stream of burning sulfur and set it on fire.
You People Also Are Sinful
2 If you think you can judge others, you are wrong. When you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty, because you do the same things they do. 2 God judges those who do wrong things, and we know that his judging is right. 3 You judge those who do wrong, but you do wrong yourselves. Do you think you will be able to escape the judgment of God? 4 He has been very kind and patient, waiting for you to change, but you think nothing of his kindness. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives. 5 But you are stubborn and refuse to change, so you are making your own punishment even greater on the day he shows his anger. On that day everyone will see God’s right judgments. 6 God will reward or punish every person for what that person has done. 7 Some people, by always continuing to do good, live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that has no end. God will give them life forever. 8 But other people are selfish. They refuse to follow truth and, instead, follow evil. God will give them his punishment and anger. 9 He will give trouble and suffering to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. 10 But he will give glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. 11 For God judges all people in the same way.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.