Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praises to God for Being Saved from Death

116 I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my prayers. ² I will call on Him as long as I live, because He has turned His ear to me. ³ The strings of death are all around me. And the fear of the grave came upon me. I suffered with trouble and sorrow. ⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beg You, save my life!”

⁵ The Lord is loving and right. Yes, our God is full of loving-kindness. ⁶ The Lord takes care of the child-like. I was brought down, and He saved me. ⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul. For the Lord has been good to you. ⁸ For You, O Lord, have saved my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ⁹ I will walk with the Lord in the land of the living.

2 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men from Shittim to go in secret to learn about the land. He said to them, “Go and spy out the land, and Jericho.” So they went and came to the house of Rahab, a woman who sold the use of her body, and they stayed there. ² Then the king of Jericho was told, “See, men of Israel have come here to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you and have gone into your house. For they have come to spy out all the land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me. But I did not know where they were from. ⁵ When it was time for the gate to be shut after dark, the men went out. I do not know where they went. Be quick to go after them, for you will catch them.” ⁶ But she had brought them up to the roof and had hidden them under the grain she had put up there. ⁷ The men went after them on the road to the Jordan as far as the river crossing. As soon as those going after them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸ Before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof. ⁹ And she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. The fear of you has come upon us. All the people living in the land have become weak with fear because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. We have heard how you destroyed the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. ¹¹ When we heard it, our hearts became weak. No man had strength of heart any more because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. ¹² Now I have shown you kindness. So I beg of you, promise me by the Lord that you will show kindness to those of my father’s house. Give me something to show that you will be faithful. ¹³ Do not kill my father and mother and my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them. Save us from death.” ¹⁴ So the men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell anyone what we are doing, we will be faithful and show you kindness when the Lord gives us the land.”

¹⁷ Because Abraham had faith, when he was tested, he gave his son Isaac as a gift on the altar in worship. God had made a promise to Abraham that He would give him a son. And yet Abraham was willing to give his only son as a gift on the altar in worship. ¹⁸ God had said to Abraham, “Your family will come from Isaac.” ^{(A) 19} Abraham believed God was able to bring Isaac back to life again. And so it may be said that Abraham did receive him back from death.

²⁰ Because Isaac had faith, he said that good would come to Jacob and Esau in the future. ²¹ Because Jacob had faith, he said that good would come to each of Joseph’s sons as he was dying. He used his walking stick to hold him up as he prayed to God.

²² Because Joseph had faith, he spoke of the Jews leaving the country of Egypt. He was going to die soon, and he told them to bury his body in the country where they were going.