Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
146 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I want to praise the Lord throughout my life.
I want to make music to praise my God as long as I live.
3 Do not trust influential people,
mortals who cannot help you.
4 When they breathe their last breath, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to an end.
5 Blessed are those who receive help from the God of Jacob.
Their hope rests on the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven, earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
The Lord remains faithful forever.
7 He brings about justice for those who are oppressed.
He gives food to those who are hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to blind people.
The Lord straightens ⌞the backs⌟ of those who are bent over.
The Lord loves righteous people.
9 The Lord protects foreigners.
The Lord gives relief to orphans and widows.
But he keeps wicked people from reaching their goal.
10 The Lord rules as king forever.
Zion, your God rules throughout every generation.
Hallelujah!
3 A poor person who oppresses poorer people
is like a driving rain that leaves no food.
4 Those who abandon ⌞God’s⌟ teachings praise wicked people,
but those who follow ⌞God’s⌟ teachings oppose wicked people.
5 Evil people do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand everything.
6 Better to be a poor person who has integrity
than to be rich and double-dealing.
7 Whoever follows ⌞God’s⌟ teachings is a wise son.
Whoever associates with gluttons disgraces his father.
8 Whoever becomes wealthy through ⌞unfair⌟ loans and interest
collects them for the one who is kind to the poor.
9 Surely the prayer of someone who refuses
to listen to ⌞God’s⌟ teachings is disgusting.
10 Whoever leads decent people into evil will fall into his own pit,
but innocent people will inherit good things.
God Saved Us because of His Great Love for Us
2 You were once dead because of your failures and sins. 2 You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.
4 But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. 5 We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness [a] that saved you.) 6 God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. 7 He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come. 8 God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. 9 It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it. 10 God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.
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