Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
In Praise of God the Savior
146 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise him as long as I live;
I will sing to my God all my life.
3 Don't put your trust in human leaders;
no human being can save you.
4 When they die, they return to the dust;
on that day all their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who have the God of Jacob to help them
and who depend on the Lord their God,
6 (A)the Creator of heaven, earth, and sea,
and all that is in them.
He always keeps his promises;
7 he judges in favor of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free
8 and gives sight to the blind.
He lifts those who have fallen;
he loves his righteous people.
9 He protects the strangers who live in our land;
he helps widows and orphans,
but takes the wicked to their ruin.
10 The Lord is king forever.
Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time.
Praise the Lord!
A King with Integrity
32 Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity, and national leaders who govern with justice. 2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land. 3 Their eyes and ears will be open to the needs of the people. 4 They will not be impatient any longer, but they will act with understanding and will say what they mean. 5 No one will think that a fool is honorable or say that a scoundrel is honest. 6 A fool speaks foolishly and thinks up evil things to do. What he does and what he says are an insult to the Lord, and he never feeds the hungry or gives thirsty people anything to drink. 7 A stupid person is evil and does evil things; he plots to ruin the poor with lies and to keep them from getting their rights. 8 But an honorable person acts honestly and stands firm for what is right.
12 The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law. 13 For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands. 14 The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law. 15 Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them. 16 And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.