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.
The Mountain of the Lord
4 In the last days
the mountain on which the Lord’s Temple stands
will become the most important of all mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
and people from other nations will come streaming to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob,
so that he can teach us his ways,
and we can obey his teachings.”
His teachings will go out from Jerusalem,
the word of the Lord from that city.
3 The Lord will judge many nations;
he will make decisions about strong nations that are far away.
They will hammer their swords into plow blades
and their spears into hooks for trimming trees.
Nations will no longer raise swords against other nations;
they will not train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under his own vine and fig tree,
and no one will make him afraid,
because the Lord All-Powerful has said it.
5 All other nations may follow their own gods,
but we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.
6 The Lord says, “At that time,
I will gather the crippled;
I will bring together those who were sent away,
those whom I caused to have trouble.
7 I will keep alive those who were crippled,
and I will make a strong nation of those who were sent away.
The Lord will be their king in Mount Zion from now on and forever.
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy our brother in Christ.
To the church of God in Corinth, and to all of God’s people everywhere in Southern Greece:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort. 4 He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us. 5 We share in the many sufferings of Christ. In the same way, much comfort comes to us through Christ. 6 If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we have comfort, you also have comfort. This helps you to accept patiently the same sufferings we have. 7 Our hope for you is strong, knowing that you share in our sufferings and also in the comfort we receive.
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in Asia. We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength. We even gave up hope of living. 9 Truly, in our own hearts we believed we would die. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from the dead. 10 God saved us from these great dangers of death, and he will continue to save us. We have put our hope in him, and he will save us again. 11 And you can help us with your prayers. Then many people will give thanks for us—that God blessed us because of their many prayers.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.