Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm of David. A song for setting apart the completed temple to God.
30 Lord, I will give you honor.
You brought me out of deep trouble.
You didn’t give my enemies the joy of seeing me die.
2 Lord my God, I called out to you for help.
And you healed me.
3 Lord, you brought me up from the place of the dead.
You kept me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you who are faithful to him.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
5 His anger lasts for only a moment.
But his favor lasts for a person’s whole life.
Weeping can stay for the night.
But joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will always be secure.”
7 Lord, when you gave me your help,
you made Mount Zion stand firm.
But when you took away your help,
I was terrified.
8 Lord, I called out to you.
I cried to you for mercy.
9 I said, “What good will come if I become silent in death?
What good will come if I go down into the grave?
Can the dust of my dead body praise you?
Can it tell how faithful you are?
10 Lord, hear me. Have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You turned my loud crying into dancing.
You removed my clothes of sadness and dressed me with joy.
12 So my heart will sing your praises. I can’t keep silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
16 “That’s why I am weeping.
Tears are flowing from my eyes.
No one is near to comfort me.
No one can heal my spirit.
My children don’t have anything.
My enemies are much too strong for me.”
17 Zion reaches out her hands.
But no one is there to comfort her people.
The Lord has ordered that
the neighbors of Jacob’s people would become their enemies.
Jerusalem has become impure among them.
18 Jerusalem says, “The Lord always does what is right.
But I refused to obey his commands.
Listen, all you nations.
Pay attention to how much I’m suffering.
My young men and women
have been taken away as prisoners.
19 “I called out to those who were going to help me.
But they turned against me.
My priests and elders
died in the city.
They were searching for food
just to stay alive.
20 “Lord, see how upset I am!
I am suffering deep down inside.
My heart is troubled.
Again and again I have refused to obey you.
Outside the city, people are being killed by swords.
Inside, there is nothing but death.
21 “People have heard me groan.
But no one is here to comfort me.
My enemies have heard about all my troubles.
What you have done makes them happy.
So please judge them, just as you said you would.
Let them become like me.
22 “Please pay attention to all their sinful ways.
Punish them as you have punished me.
You judged me because I had committed so many sins.
I groan all the time.
And my heart is weak.”
Paul Has Joy When the Church Turns Away From Sin
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We haven’t done anything wrong to anyone. We haven’t caused anyone to sin. We haven’t taken advantage of anyone. 3 I don’t say this to judge you. I have told you before that you have an important place in our hearts. We would live or die with you. 4 I have spoken to you very honestly. I am very proud of you. I am very happy. Even with all our troubles, my joy has no limit.
5 When we came to Macedonia, we weren’t able to rest. We were attacked no matter where we went. We had battles on the outside and fears on the inside. 6 But God comforts those who are sad. He comforted us when Titus came. 7 We were comforted not only when he came but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us how much you longed for me. He told us about your deep sadness and concern for me. That made my joy greater than ever.
8 Even if my letter made you sad, I’m not sorry I sent it. At first I was sorry. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while. 9 Now I am happy. I’m not happy because you were made sad. I’m happy because your sadness led you to turn away from your sins. You became sad just as God wanted you to. So you were not hurt in any way by us. 10 Godly sadness causes us to turn away from our sins and be saved. And we are certainly not sorry about that! But worldly sadness brings death. 11 Look at what that godly sadness has produced in you. You are working hard to clear yourselves. You are angry and alarmed. You are longing to see me. You are concerned. You are ready to make sure that the right thing is done. In every way you have proved that you are not guilty in that matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it wasn’t because of the one who did the wrong. It wasn’t because of the one who was hurt either. Instead, I wrote you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how faithful you are to us. 13 All this encourages us.
We were also very glad to see how happy Titus was. You have all renewed his spirit. 14 I had bragged about you to him. And you have not let me down. Everything we said to you was true. In the same way, our bragging about you to Titus has also turned out to be true. 15 His love for you is even greater when he remembers that you all obeyed his teaching. You received him with fear and trembling. 16 I am glad I can have complete faith in you.
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