Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Peaceful Latter Days
4 And it will come about in the (A)last days
That the (B)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the (C)peoples will stream to it.
2 (D)Many nations will come and say,
“(E)Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That (F)He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For (G)from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And He will (H)judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, [b]distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords (I)into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they [c]train for war.
4 Each of them will (J)sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With (K)no one to make them afraid,
For the (L)mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk
Each in the (M)name of his god,
As for us, (N)we will walk
In the name of the (O)Lord our God forever and ever.
Introduction
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus (C)by the will of God, and (D)Timothy our brother,
To (E)the church of God which is at (F)Corinth with all the [a]saints who are throughout (G)Achaia:
2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and (J)God of all comfort, 4 who (K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in [b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just (L)as the sufferings of Christ are [c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is (M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that (N)as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
8 For (O)we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our (P)affliction which came to us in [d](Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 [e]indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who (R)delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, [f]He (S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in (T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by (U)many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
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