Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A song of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Your arrows have wounded me.
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.
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 leave me alone.
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 a deaf man; I cannot hear.
Like a mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like a person who does not hear.
I have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my God and Lord.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me.
Don’t let them brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy.
Many people 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.
A Prayer to the Lord
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
Look and see our disgrace.
2 Our land has been turned over to strangers.
Our houses have been given to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans with no father.
Our mothers have become like widows.
4 We have to buy the water we drink.
We must pay for the wood for our fires.
5 They work us hard as if we were animals with a yoke on our necks.
We get tired and have no rest.
6 We made an agreement with Egypt
and with Assyria to get enough food.
7 Our ancestors sinned against you. But they are gone.
Now we must suffer because of their sins.
8 Slaves have become our rulers.
There is no one who can save us from them.
9 We risk our lives to get our food
because there are men with swords in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven.
We burn with fever because of the terrible hunger.
11 The enemy raped the women of Jerusalem
and the girls in the cities of Judah.
12 The enemy hung our princes by the hands.
They do not honor our elders.
13 The young men grind grain at the mill.
Boys stumble while carrying loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit at the city gates.
The young men no longer make music.
15 We have no more joy in our hearts.
Our dancing has turned into sadness.
16 The glory has gone from Jerusalem.
How terrible it is for us because we have sinned.
17 Because of this we are afraid.
Because of these things our eyes are dim.
18 Mount Zion is empty.
Now wild dogs wander around it.
19 But you rule forever, Lord.
You will be King from now on.
20 Why have you forgotten us for so long?
Why have you left us for so long?
21 Bring us back to you, Lord. We will return.
Make our days as they were before.
22 Or have you completely rejected us?
Will your anger never end?
Jesus Has God’s Authority
19 But Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. The Son can do nothing alone. The Son does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does whatever the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son, and the Father shows the Son all the things he himself does. But the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will all be amazed. 21 The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to those he wants to. 22 Also, the Father judges no one. But the Father has given the Son power to do all the judging. 23 God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same way they respect the Father. He who does not respect the Son does not respect the Father. The Father is the One who sent the Son.
24 “I tell you the truth. Whoever hears what I say and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. He will not be judged guilty. He has already left death and has entered into life. 25 I tell you the truth. The time is coming and is already here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who hear will have life. 26 Life comes from the Father himself. So the Father has allowed the Son to give life. 27 And the Father has given the Son the approval to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be surprised at this. A time is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good will rise and have life forever. But those who did evil will rise to be judged guilty.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.