Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Relief from Contempt
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto You (A)I lift up my eyes,
O You (B)who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(C)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Job’s Discourse on the Wicked
21 Then Job answered and said:
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God (A)distributes in His anger?
18 (B)They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm [a]carries away.
19 They say, ‘God [b]lays up [c]one’s iniquity (C)for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
20 Let his eyes see his destruction,
And (D)let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?
22 “Can(E) anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
23 One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
24 His [d]pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
26 They (F)lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.
27 “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
28 For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is [e]the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
30 (G)For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
31 Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
(H)Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
34 How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since [f]falsehood remains in your answers?”
Greeting the Elect Lady
1 The Elder,
To the [a]elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known (A)the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 (B)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with [b]you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Walk in Christ’s Commandments
4 I (C)rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: (D)that we love one another. 6 (E)This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that (F)as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
Beware of Antichrist Deceivers
7 For (G)many deceivers have gone out into the world (H)who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. (I)This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 (J)Look to yourselves, (K)that [c]we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.
9 (L)Whoever [d]transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and (M)does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
John’s Farewell Greeting
12 (N)Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, (O)that our joy may be full.
13 (P)The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.