Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer of a Good Man

26 O Lord, stand by me for I have lived my life without blame. I have trusted in the Lord without changing. ² Test me and try me, O Lord. Test my mind and my heart. ³ For Your loving-kindness is always in front of my eyes. And I have walked in Your truth. ⁴ I do not sit with men who lie about the truth. I would not be seen with those who pretend to be someone they are not. ⁵ I hate the meeting of sinners, and will not sit with the sinful. ⁶ I will wash my hands of any guilt. And I will go around Your altar, O Lord. ⁷ I will speak with the voice of thanks, and tell of all Your great works.

⁸ O Lord, I love the house where You live, the place where Your shining-greatness lives. ⁹ Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men who kill other people. ¹⁰ Sinful plans are in their hands. And their right hand is full of pay for hurting others. ¹¹ But as for me, I will live a life without blame. Make me free, and show me loving-kindness. ¹² My foot stands on a good place. I will give honor to the Lord, in the meeting of worship.

Edom Hurt His Brother

¹⁰ “Because you have hurt your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and destroyed forever. ¹¹ You stood aside on that day when strangers carried his riches away. Men from another land went in through his gate and divided Jerusalem among themselves. And you were like one of them. ¹² Do not look down on your brother in the day of his trouble. Do not be happy about the sons of Judah in the day they are destroyed. Yes, do not speak with pride in the day of their trouble. ¹³ Do not go in through the gate of My people in the day of their trouble. Do not speak with pride about their suffering in the day of their trouble. And do not rob their riches in the day of their trouble. ¹⁴ Do not stand at the cross-roads to kill their people who get away. And do not put into prison those who are left alive in the day of their trouble.

¹⁵ “For the day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. What you do will come back to you on your own head. ¹⁶ Just as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink all the time. They will drink and drink, and be as if they had never been.

The Seventh Lock—No Sound in Heaven

8 When the Lamb broke the seventh lock, there was not a sound in heaven for about one-half hour.

² Then I saw the seven angels standing before God. They were given seven horns.

³ Another angel came and stood at the altar. He held a cup made of gold full of special perfume. He was given much perfume so he could mix it in with the prayers of those who belonged to God. Their prayers were put on the altar made of gold before the throne. ⁴ Smoke from burning the special perfume and the prayers of those who belong to God went up before God out of the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the cup of gold. He filled it with fire from the altar and threw it down on the earth. There was thunder and noise and lightning and the earth shook.