Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song of praise for the Sabbath.
92 It is good to praise the Lord.
God Most High, it is good to praise your name.
2 It is good to sing about your love in the morning
and about your faithfulness at night.
3 It is good to play for you on the ten-stringed instrument and lyre
and to add the soft sounds of the harp to my praise.
4 Lord, you make us very happy because of what you did.
I gladly sing about it.
5 Lord, you did such great things.
Your thoughts are too hard for us to understand.
6 Stupid people don’t know this.
Fools don’t understand.
7 The wicked may sprout like grass,
and those who do evil may blossom like flowers,
but they will be destroyed, never to be seen again.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, all your enemies will be destroyed,
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have given me your blessing.[a]
11 My eyes will see the defeat of those waiting to attack me.
My ears will hear the cries of my evil enemies.
12 Good people are like budding palm trees.
They grow strong like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house[b] of the Lord.
They grow strong there in the courtyards of our God.
14 Even when they are old,
they will continue producing fruit like young, healthy trees.
15 They are there to show everyone that the Lord is good.[c]
He is my Rock, and he does no wrong.[d]
3 “Remember my laws and commands, and obey them. 4 If you do these things, I will give you rains at the time they should come. The land will grow crops and the trees of the field will grow their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until it is time to gather grapes. And your grape gathering will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat. And you will live safely in your land. 6 I will give peace to your country. You will lie down in peace. No one will come to make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country. And armies will not come through your country.
7 “You will chase your enemies and defeat them. You will kill them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase 100 men, and 100 of you will chase 10,000 men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.
9 “Then I will turn to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you. 10 You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. You will harvest the new crops. But then you will have to throw out the old crops to make room for the new crops. 11 Also, I will place my Holy Tent among you. I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk with you and be your God. And you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt, but I brought you out of Egypt. You were bent low from the heavy weights you carried as slaves, but I broke the poles that were on your shoulders. I let you walk proudly again.
Punishment for Not Obeying God
14 “But if you don’t obey me and all my commands, bad things will happen to you. 15 If you refuse to obey my laws and commands, you have broken my agreement. 16 If you do that, I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever. They will destroy your eyes and take away your life. You will not have success when you plant your seed. And your enemies will eat your crops. 17 I will be against you, so your enemies will defeat you. These enemies will hate you and rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “After these things, if you still don’t obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will also destroy the great cities that make you proud. The skies will not give rain, and the earth will not produce crops.[a] 20 You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not give any crops, and your trees will not grow their fruit.
A Life That Pleases God
4 Brothers and sisters, now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more. 2 You know all that we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy. He wants you to stay away from sexual sins. 4 God wants each one of you to learn to control your own body. Use your body in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God.[a] 5 Don’t let your sexual desires control you like the people who don’t know God. 6 Never wrong any of your fellow believers or cheat them in this way. The Lord will punish those who do that. We have already told you this and warned you about it. 7 God chose us to be holy. He does not want us to live in sin. 8 So anyone who refuses to obey this teaching is refusing to obey God, not us. And God is the one who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International