Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 32[a]
The Joy of Being Forgiven
1 Of David. A maskil.[b]
[c]Blessed is the one whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is erased.
2 Blessed is the one to whom the Lord charges no guilt
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 As long as I remained silent,[d]
my body wasted away
as the result of my groaning throughout the day.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered steadily
as though consumed by the summer heat.[e] Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my offenses[f] to the Lord,”
and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is faithful pray to you
where you may be found.[g]
Even if great floods threaten,
they will never reach him.
7 You are a place of refuge for me;
you preserve me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.[h] Selah
If You Return to the Almighty . . .
21 “Come to terms with God and be reconciled.
In this way good fortune will come to you.
22 Accept the instruction from his lips
and keep his words in your heart.[a]
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
if you remove iniquity from your tent
24 and treat gold as if it were only dust
and the gold of Ophir[b] as pebbles from the stream,
25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 “For then the Almighty will be your delight
and you will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
28 Whatever decision you make will be successful,
and light will shine along your path.
29 For God brings low the arrogant
while he saves the humble.
30 He delivers anyone who is innocent;
if your hands are clean, you will be saved.”
Job’s Seventh Response
Chapter 23
If Only I Knew Where To Find God![c] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “My complaint remains bitter;
despite my groans, God’s hand lies heavy on me.
3 Oh, if only I knew where to find him
so that I might discover his dwelling.
4 I would present my case before him
and state arguments in my defense.
5 “Then I would learn what he would answer me,
and contemplate his words to me.
6 He would not use his power to contend with me;
he would only need to consider my arguments.
7 There an upright man could reason with him,
and I would receive a verdict of acquittal.
8 [d]“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I cannot behold him.
9 When I seek him in the north, I cannot find him;
when I turn to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
God Has Caused My Courage To Fail[e]
10 “And yet he is aware of everywhere I go;
if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold.
11 My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established;
I have followed his way and never turned aside.
12 I have not strayed from the commandments of his lips;
I have treasured in my heart the words of his mouth.
13 But once he has made a decision, who can oppose him?
Whatever he desires, that he does.
14 He will not turn aside from what he has planned for me,
as is true of all his other decrees.
15 “That is why I am in such fear of him;
whenever I think of him, I am terrified.
16 God has caused my courage to fail;
the Almighty has filled me with dread.
17 For darkness hides me from him,
and obscurity veils his presence from me.
Salutation
Chapter 1
Address.[a] 1 Simon Peter,[b] a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 may grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge[c] of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Exhortation to Growth in Christian Virtues
Strengthen Your Vocation.[d] 3 His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. 4 By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature.[e]
5 [f]In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, 7 and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
8 If you possess these qualities and they increase in abundance, they will prevent your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ from being ineffective and unfruitful. 9 For anyone who lacks them is near-sighted or blind, since he has forgotten how his past sins were washed away.[g]
10 Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.[h]
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