Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm of David. A prayer.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are burning with anger.
2 You have wounded me with your arrows.
You have struck me with your hand.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick.
Because of my sin, I’m not healthy.
4 My guilt has become too much for me.
It is a load too heavy to carry.
5 My wounds are ugly. They stink.
I’ve been foolish. I have sinned.
6 I am bent over. I’ve been brought very low.
All day long I go around weeping.
7 My back is filled with burning pain.
My whole body is sick.
8 I am weak and feel as if I’ve been broken in pieces.
I groan because of the great pain in my heart.
9 Lord, everything I really want is clearly known to you.
You always hear me when I sigh.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
My eyes can hardly see.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds.
My neighbors stay far away from me.
12 Those who are trying to kill me set their traps.
Those who want to harm me talk about destroying me.
All day long they make their plans and tell their lies.
13 Like a deaf person, I can’t hear.
Like someone who can’t speak, I can’t say a word.
14 I’m like someone who doesn’t hear.
I’m like someone whose mouth can’t make any reply.
15 Lord, I wait for you to help me.
Lord my God, I know you will answer.
16 I said, “Don’t let my enemies have the joy of seeing me fall.
Don’t let them brag when my feet slip.”
17 I am about to fall.
My pain never leaves me.
18 I admit that I have done wrong.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Though I have done nothing to cause it, many people have become my enemies.
They hate me without any reason.
20 They pay me back with evil, even though I was good to them.
They bring charges against me, though I try only to do what is good.
21 Lord, don’t desert me.
My God, don’t be far away from me.
22 Lord my Savior,
come quickly to help me.
People From Many Nations Will Worship at the Lord’s Mountain
4 In the last days
the mountain where the Lord’s temple is located will be famous.
It will be the highest mountain of all.
It will be lifted up above the hills.
And nations will go to it.
2 People from many nations will go there. They will say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain.
Let’s go to the temple of Jacob’s God.
He will teach us how we should live.
Then we will live the way he wants us to.”
The law of the Lord will be taught at Zion.
His message will go out from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between people from many nations.
He’ll settle problems among strong nations everywhere.
They will hammer their swords into plows.
They’ll hammer their spears into pruning tools.
Nations will not go to war against one another.
They won’t even train to fight anymore.
4 Everyone will have
their own vine and fig tree.
And no one will make them afraid.
That’s what the Lord who rules over all has promised.
5 Other nations worship and trust in their gods.
But we will worship and obey the Lord.
He will be our God for ever and ever.
The Lord’s Plan
6 “The time is coming
when I will gather those who are disabled,”
announces the Lord.
“I will bring together those
who were taken away as prisoners.
I will gather those I have allowed to suffer.
7 I will make the disabled my faithful people.
I will make into a strong nation those driven away from their homes.
I will rule over them on Mount Zion.
I will be their King from that time on and forever.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Timothy our brother joins me in writing.
We are sending this letter to you, the members of God’s church in Corinth. It is also for all God’s holy people everywhere in Achaia.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Praise to the God Who Gives Comfort
3 Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from him. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles. Now we can comfort others when they are in trouble. We ourselves receive comfort from God. 5 We share very much in the sufferings of Christ. So we also share very much in his comfort. 6 If we are having trouble, it is so that you will be comforted and renewed. If we are comforted, it is so that you will be comforted. Then you will be able to put up with the same suffering we have gone through. 7 Our hope for you remains firm. We know that you suffer just as we do. In the same way, God comforts you just as he comforts us.
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we had in Asia Minor. We were having a lot of trouble. It was far more than we could stand. We even thought we were going to die. 9 In fact, we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life. 10 God has saved us from deadly dangers. And he will continue to do it. We have put our hope in him. He will continue to save us. 11 You must help us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because of what will happen to us. They will thank God for his kindness to us in answer to the prayers of many.
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