Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
This is a song that David wrote.
I do what is right
26 Lord, I always try to do what is right.
I continue to trust you all the time.
So please show that I am not guilty of wrong things.
2 Test me, Lord, and see how I have lived.
Look into my mind and see my thoughts.
3 I always know that I can trust you,
because of your faithful love.
So I live to please you.
4 I do not become a friend of people who tell lies.
I do not join together with hypocrites.
5 I keep away from any crowd of evil people.
I do not become a friend of wicked people.
6 I wash my hands as a sign
that I live in a pure way.[a]
I will worship you at your altar, Lord.
7 I will sing aloud to thank you.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
8 Lord, I love the temple that is your house.
It is the place where we clearly see your glory.
9 Do not take away my life,
as you do with sinners.
Do not punish me with death,
as you do with murderers.
10 Those wicked people are always ready to do evil things.
They use bribes to get what they want.
11 But I always try to do what is right.
Please save me and be kind to me!
12 Now I stand in a safe place.
I will praise the Lord
when his people meet together to worship him.
God will punish Edom's people
1 This is the vision that Obadiah saw.
The Almighty Lord says this about Edom.[a]
We have heard a message from the Lord.
Someone has taken a message to the nations to say,
‘Stand up and fight against Edom.’
2 The Lord says to Edom,
‘I will make you small among other people.
They will think that you are not worth anything.
3 You think that you are better than other people. And so you believe something that is not true.
You live in a place that is difficult to reach.
Your home is high up in a place among rocks.
You say to yourself,
“Nobody can reach us up here.”
4 You may be like a strong bird that flies high.
And you may make your home in the highest places among the stars.
But I will bring you down from there.’
That is what the Lord says.
5 He says,
‘Men might come in the night
to take away what is yours.
(Oh! What a very bad thing will happen to you!)
But they would not take everything.
If people came to take fruit from your trees,
they would leave some fruit on the tree.
6 But people will take everything from Esau's people (also called Edom).
They will even take the valuable things that you hide.
7 People who have helped you to fight
will push you out from your country.
They will tell you what is not true. You will believe them.
They will be stronger than you
because you will believe their words.
They will make a trap for you.’
8 The Lord says,
‘Some men in Edom know what is right.[b] But, at that time, I will kill them.
Some men in the mountains know what is good. (These are the mountains where Esau's people live.) But I will kill those men.
9 There are men from Teman city that fight. But I will make them afraid.
Esau's people live in the mountains. And everyone there will die.
The large crowd who were wearing white clothes
9 After this, I looked again. I saw a very big crowd of people. There were so many people that nobody could count them. They came from every nation, from every tribe and from every language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing long white clothes and they held branches of palm trees in their hands.[a]
10 They shouted loudly:
‘We worship our God who sits on the throne.
And we worship the Lamb.
They have saved us from Satan's power.’
11 All the angels were standing around the throne, and around the leaders and the four beings. The angels all bent down so that their faces touched the ground. They worshipped God who was on the throne in front of them. 12 They said:
‘This is true!
We worship our God and we give him honour.
He is completely wise.
We thank him and we praise him.
He has all power and authority for ever!
Amen!’
13 Then one of the leaders asked me, ‘Who are these people in white clothes? Where did they come from?’
14 I replied, ‘You surely know who they are, sir.’
He said to me, ‘They are the people who have had a time of very bad trouble. Now they have come out of that. They have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb. Now their clothes are white and clean.[b] 15 Because of that, they are now standing in front of God's throne. They serve God in his house all the time, day and night. And God will keep them safe because he is with them. 16 They will never again be hungry. They will never be thirsty. The sun will not burn them, nor will any other strong heat burn them. 17 The Lamb is there with them, near to God's throne. He will take care of them, like a shepherd with his sheep. He will take them to drink fresh water that gives people life. They will no longer be sad. God will take away all the tears from their eyes.’
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