Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A psalm of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are furious.
2 Your arrows have wounded me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 My body is sick from your punishment.
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me;
like a load it weighs me down.
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down;
I am sad all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body is sore.
8 I am weak and faint.
I moan from the pain I feel.
9 Lord, you know everything I want;
my cries are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
I am losing my sight.
11 Because of my wounds, my friends and neighbors avoid me,
and my relatives stay far away.
12 Some people set traps to kill me.
Those who want to hurt me plan trouble;
all day long they think up lies.
13 I am like the deaf; I cannot hear.
Like the mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like those who do not hear,
who have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my Lord and God.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me
or brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die,
and I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy,
and many hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They lie about me because I try to do good.
21 Lord, don’t leave me;
my God, don’t go away.
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
18 The Lord wants to show his mercy to you.
He wants to rise and comfort you.
The Lord is a fair God,
and everyone who waits for his help will be happy.
The Lord Will Help His People
19 You people who live on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will not cry anymore. The Lord will hear your crying, and he will comfort you. When he hears you, he will help you. 20 The Lord has given you sorrow and hurt like the bread and water you ate every day. He is your teacher; he will not continue to hide from you, but you will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 If you go the wrong way—to the right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the right way. You should go this way.” 22 You have statues covered with silver and gold, but you will ruin them for further use. You will throw them away like filthy rags and say, “Go away!”
23 At that time the Lord will send rain for the seeds you plant in the ground, and the ground will grow food for you. The harvest will be rich and great, and you will have plenty of food in the fields for your animals. 24 Your oxen and donkeys that work the soil will have all the food they need. You will have to use shovels and pitchforks to spread all their food. 25 Every mountain and hill will have streams filled with water. These things will happen after many people are killed and the towers are pulled down. 26 At that time the light from the moon will be bright like the sun, and the light from the sun will be seven times brighter than now, like the light of seven days. These things will happen when the Lord bandages his broken people and heals the hurts he gave them.
Paul in Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra there sat a man who had been born crippled; he had never walked. 9 As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he believed God could heal him. 10 So he cried out, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!” 12 Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus”[a] and Paul “Hermes,”[b] because he was the main speaker. 13 The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. 14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes. They ran in among the people, shouting, 15 “Friends, why are you doing these things? We are only human beings like you. We are bringing you the Good News and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In the past, God let all the nations do what they wanted. 17 Yet he proved he is real by showing kindness, by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right times, by giving you food and filling your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.