Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have many enemies!
Many people have turned against me.
2 Many people are talking about me.
They say, “God won’t rescue him.” Selah
3 But, Lord, you are my shield.
You are my wonderful God who gives me courage.
4 I will pray to the Lord.
And he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down and go to sleep.
And I will wake up again
because the Lord protects me.
6 Thousands of enemies may surround me.
But I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come save me!
You have hit my enemies on the cheek.
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 The Lord can save his people.
Lord, bless your people. Selah
The Lord Answers
5 “You and your people, look at the nations!
Watch them and be amazed.
I will do something in your lifetime that will amaze you.
You won’t believe it even when you are told about it.
6 I will use the Babylonian people to punish the evil people.
The Babylonians are cruel and powerful fighters.
They march across the earth.
They take lands that don’t belong to them.
7 The Babylonians frighten other people.
They do what they want to do.
They are good only to themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and more cruel than wolves at sunset.
Their horse soldiers attack quickly.
They come from places that are far away.
They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
9 They all come to fight.
Their armies march quickly like a whirlwind in the desert.
Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.
10 The Babylonian soldiers laugh at kings.
They make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the strong, walled cities.
They build dirt roads up to the top of the walls.
They capture the cities.
11 Then they leave like the wind and move on.
They are guilty of worshiping their own strength.”
Habakkuk Complains Again
12 Lord, you are the Lord who lives forever.
You are my God, my holy God.
You will not let those who trust you die.
Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people.
Our Rock, you created them to punish the people.
13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil.
You cannot stand to see people do wrong.
So how can you put up with those evil people?
How can you be quiet when wicked people defeat people who are better than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea.
You treat them like sea animals without a leader.
15 The enemy catches all of them with hooks.
He catches them in his net.
He drags them in.
He is glad that he has caught them.
16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net.
He burns incense to worship it.
This is because his net lets him live like a rich man.
His net lets him enjoy the best food.
17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net?
Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?
2 My brothers, you will have many kinds of troubles. But when these things happen, you should be very happy. 3 You know that these things are testing your faith. And this will give you patience. 4 Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete. You will have everything you need. 5 But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. God is generous. He enjoys giving to all people, so God will give you wisdom. 6 But when you ask God, you must believe. Do not doubt God. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down. 7-8 He who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
True Riches
9 If a believer is poor, he should take pride that God has made him spiritually rich. 10 If he is rich, he should take pride that God has shown him that he is spiritually poor. The rich person will die like a wild flower in the grass. 11 The sun rises and becomes hotter and hotter. The heat makes the plants very dry, and the flower falls off. The flower was beautiful, but now it is dead. It is the same with a rich person. While he is still taking care of his business, he will die.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.