Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy
A song for going up to worship.
130 Lord, I am in great trouble.
So I call out to you for help.
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Listen to my prayer for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left.
4 But you forgive us.
So you are respected.
5 I wait for the Lord to help me.
I trust his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn,
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn.
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is loving
and able to save.
8 He will save Israel
from all their sins.
10 “So you, human being, say to Israel: ‘You have said: Surely our law-breaking and sins are hurting us. They will kill us. What can we do so we will live?’ 11 Say to them: ‘The Lord God says: As surely as I live, this is true. I do not want a wicked person to die. I want him to stop doing evil and live. Turn back! Turn back from your wicked ways! You don’t want to die, people of Israel.’
12 “And you, human being, say to your people: ‘The goodness of a good person will not save him when he sins. The evil of the wicked person will not cause him to be punished if he turns from it. A good person will not be able to live by the good he did earlier if he sins.’ 13 I might tell the good person, “You will surely live.” But he might think he has done enough good and then do evil. Then none of the good things he did will be remembered. He will die because of the evil he has done. 14 Or, I might say to the wicked person, “You will surely die.” But he might turn from his sin and do what is right and honest. 15 He returns what somebody gave him as a promise to repay a loan. He pays back what he stole. He lives by the rules that give life. He does not sin. Then that one will surely live. He will not die. 16 He will not be punished for any of his sins. He now does what is right and fair. He will surely live.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said:
“The power to rule the world
now belongs to our Lord and his Christ.
And he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 elders[a] bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. 17 They said:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful.
You are the One who is and who was.
We thank you because you have used your great power
and have begun to rule!
18 The people of the world were angry;
but now is the time for your anger.
Now is the time for the dead to be judged.
It is time to reward your servants the prophets
and to reward your holy people,
all who respect you, great and small.
It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple[b] in heaven was opened. The Ark of the Covenant that holds the agreement that God gave to his people could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.