Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm of David.
103 I will praise the Lord.
Deep down inside me, I will praise him.
I will praise him, because his name is holy.
2 I will praise the Lord.
I won’t forget anything he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins.
He heals all my sicknesses.
4 He saves my life from going down into the grave.
His faithful and tender love makes me feel like a king.
5 He satisfies me with the good things I desire.
Then I feel young and strong again, just like an eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are treated badly.
7 He told Moses all about his plans.
He let the people of Israel see his mighty acts.
8 The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.
He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
A Man Works on the Sabbath Day
32 The Israelites were in the desert. One Sabbath day, people saw a man gathering wood. 33 They brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. 34 They kept him under guard. It wasn’t clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. They must do it outside the camp.” 36 So the people took the man outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Tassels on Clothes
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must make tassels on the corners of your clothes. A blue cord must be on each tassel. You must do it for all time to come. 39 You will have the tassels to look at. They will remind you to obey all the Lord’s commands. Then you will be faithful to him. You will not chase after what your own hearts and eyes wish for. 40 You will remember to obey all my commands. And you will be set apart for your God. 41 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
3 He made it through these attacks by sinners. So think about him. Then you won’t get tired. You won’t lose hope.
God Trains His Children
4 You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood. 5 Have you completely forgotten this word of hope? It speaks to you as a father to his children. It says,
“My son, think of the Lord’s training as important.
Do not lose hope when he corrects you.
6 The Lord trains the one he loves.
He corrects everyone he accepts as his son.” (Proverbs 3:11,12)
7 Put up with hard times. God uses them to train you. He is treating you as his children. What children are not trained by their parents? 8 God trains all his children. But what if he doesn’t train you? Then you are not really his children. You are not God’s true sons and daughters at all. 9 Besides, we have all had human fathers who trained us. We respected them for it. How much more should we be trained by the Father of spirits and live! 10 Our parents trained us for a little while. They did what they thought was best. But God trains us for our good. He does this so we may share in his holiness. 11 No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does this for those who have been trained by it.
12 So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey. 13 “Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” (Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.
A Warning and an Appeal
14 Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 Be sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. See to it that a bitter plant doesn’t grow up. If it does, it will cause trouble. And it will make many people impure. 16 See to it that no one commits sexual sins. See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal. 17 As you know, after that he wanted to receive his father’s blessing. But he was turned away. With tears he tried to get the blessing. But he couldn’t change what he had done.
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