Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer in Time of Discipline.
A Psalm of David; to bring to remembrance.
38 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor discipline me in Your burning anger.
2
For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply,
And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood];
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5
My wounds are loathsome and foul
Because of my foolishness.
6
I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go about mourning all day long.
7
For my sides are filled with burning,
And there is no health in my flesh.
8
I am numb and greatly bruised [deadly cold and completely worn out];
I groan because of the disquiet and moaning of my heart.
9
Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10
My heart throbs violently, my strength fails me;
And as for the light of my eyes, even that has also gone from me.
11
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my neighbors stand far away.(A)
12
Those who seek my life lay snares for me,
And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction;
They devise treachery all the day long.
13
But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14
Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
In whose mouth are no arguments.
15
For in You, O Lord, I hope;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16
For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”
17
For I am ready to fall;
My sorrow is continually before me.
18
For I do confess my guilt and iniquity;
I am filled with anxiety because of my sin.(B)
19
But my [numerous] enemies are vigorous and strong,
And those who hate me without cause are many.
20
They repay evil for good, they attack and try to kill me,
Because I follow what is good.
21
Do not abandon me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me.
22
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my Salvation.
A Prayer for Mercy
5 O Lord, remember what has come upon us;
Look, and see our reproach (national disgrace)!
2
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
Our houses to foreigners.
3
We have become orphans without a father;
Our mothers are like widows.
4
We have to pay for our drinking water;
Our wood comes to us at a price.
5
Our pursuers are at our necks;
We are worn out, there is no rest for us.
6
We have given the hand [as a pledge of fidelity and submission] to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.
7
Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
It is [a]we who have carried their sin.(A)
8
Servants rule over us;
There is no one to rescue us out of their hand.(B)
9
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
Because of the sword [of the Arabs] in the wilderness [who may attack if we go out to harvest the crop].
10
Our skin is as hot as [the heat of] an oven
Because of the burning heat of [the fever of] famine.
11
They ravished the women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
12
Princes were hung by their hands;
Elders were not respected.
13
Young men worked at the grinding mill,
And boys fell [staggering] under loads of wood.
14
Elders are gone from the gate;
Young men from their music.
15
The joy of our hearts has ended;
Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
16
The crown has fallen from our head [our honor is covered with dust]!
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17
Because of this our heart is faint,
Because of these things our eyes are dim.
18
As for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
Foxes and the jackals prowl over it.
19
But You, O Lord, reign forever;
Your throne endures from generation to [all] generations.
20
Why do You forget us forever?
Why do You forsake us so long?
21
Return us to You, O Lord, so that we may be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22
Unless You have utterly rejected us
And are exceedingly angry with us.
19 So Jesus answered them by saying, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son [a]can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way. 20 For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder. 21 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life [and allows them to live on], even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment [that is, the prerogative of judging] to the Son [placing it entirely into His hands], 23 so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.
24 “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.
Two Resurrections
25 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, a time is coming and is [here] now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent]. 27 And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man [sinless humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind].(A) 28 Do not be surprised at this; for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and they will come out—those who did good things [will come out] to a resurrection of [new] life, but those who did evil things [will come out] to a resurrection of judgment [that is, to be sentenced].(B)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.