Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer of Trust in God
31 O Lord, in You I have found a safe place. Let me never be ashamed. Set me free, because You do what is right and good. 2 Turn Your ear to me, and be quick to save me. Be my rock of strength, a strong place to keep me safe. 3 For You are my rock and my safe place. For the honor of Your name, lead me and show me the way. 4 You will free me from the net that they have hidden for me. For You are my strength. 5 I give my spirit into Your hands. You have made me free, O Lord, God of truth.
19 How great is Your loving-kindness! You have stored it up for those who fear You. You show it to those who trust in You in front of the sons of men. 20 You will hide them with You in secret from the sinful plans of men. You keep them in Your tent in secret from those who fight with tongues. 21 Honor and thanks be to the Lord. For He has shown His great loving-favor to me when I was in a city with armies all around. 22 In my fear I said, “You have closed Your eyes to me!” But You heard my cry for loving-kindness when I called to You.
23 Love the Lord, all you who belong to Him! The Lord keeps the faithful safe. But He gives the proud their pay in full. 24 Be strong. Be strong in heart, all you who hope in the Lord.
Good Comes to Those Who Return to the Lord
30 “When all these things have come upon you, the good things and the curses which I have told you about, you will remember them in all the nations where the Lord your God has sent you. 2 When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul by all I have told you today, 3 then the Lord your God will have you return from where you were held. He will have loving-pity for you. He will gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has sent you. 4 Even if you are driven to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land your fathers lived in and it will be yours. He will bring good to you and make you more in number than your fathers.
6 I am not saying that God did not keep His promises. Not all the Jews are people God chose for Himself. 7 Not all of Abraham’s family are children of God. God told Abraham, “Only the family of Isaac will be called your family.”(A) 8 This means that children born to Abraham are not all children of God. Only those that are born because of God’s promise to Abraham are His children. 9 This was the promise God made: “About this time next year I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” (B) 10 Not only this, but there was Rebecca also. Rebecca gave birth to two sons at the same time. Both of them were sons of Isaac. 11 Even before the two sons were born, we see God’s plan of choosing. God could choose whom He wanted. It could not be changed because of anything the older son tried to do about it. It was before either one had done anything good or bad. 12 Rebecca was told, “The older son will work for the younger son.” 13 The Holy Writings say, “I loved Jacob, but hated Esau.” (C)
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