Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A psalm of David.

⁶ You are the one and only Lord. You made the heavens. You made even the highest heavens. You created all the stars in the sky. You created the earth and everything on it. And you made the oceans and everything in them. You give life to everything. Every living being in heaven worships you.

⁷ “You are the Lord God. You chose Abram. You brought him out of Ur in the land of Babylon. You named him Abraham. ⁸ You knew that his heart was faithful to you. And you made a covenant with him. You promised to give to his children after him a land of their own. It was the land of the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites. The Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites also lived there. You have kept your promise. That’s because you always do what is right and fair.

⁹ “You saw how our people of long ago suffered in Egypt. You heard them cry out to you at the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh. You sent plagues on all his officials. In fact, you sent them on all the people of Egypt. You knew how they treated our people. They looked down on them. But you made a name for yourself. That name remains to this very day. ¹¹ You parted the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites. They passed through it on dry ground. But you threw into the sea those who chased them. They sank down like a stone into the mighty waters. ¹² By day you led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud. At night you led them with a pillar of fire. It gave them light to show them the way you wanted them to go.

¹³ “You came down on Mount Sinai. From heaven you spoke to our people. You gave them rules and laws. Those laws are right and fair. You gave them orders and commands that are good. ¹⁴ You taught them about your holy Sabbath day. You gave them commands, orders and laws. You did it through your servant Moses. ¹⁵ When the people were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, you brought them water out of a rock. You told them to go into the land of Canaan. You told them to take it as their own. It was the land you had promised to give them.

The Day of the Lord Is Coming

5 Brothers and sisters, we don’t have to write to you about times and dates. ² You know very well how the day of the Lord will come. It will come like a thief in the night. ³ People will be saying that everything is peaceful and safe. Then suddenly they will be destroyed. It will happen like birth pains coming on a pregnant woman. None of the people will escape.

⁴ Brothers and sisters, you are not in darkness. So that day should not surprise you as a thief would. ⁵ All of you are children of the light. You are children of the day. We don’t belong to the night. We don’t belong to the darkness. ⁶ So let us not be like the others. They are asleep. Instead, let us be wide awake and in full control of ourselves. ⁷ Those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But we belong to the day. So let us control ourselves. Let us put on our chest the armor of faith and love. Let us put on the hope of salvation like a helmet. ⁹ God didn’t choose us to receive his anger. He chose us to receive salvation because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. ¹⁰ Jesus died for us. Some will be alive when he comes. Others will be dead. Either way, we will live together with him. ¹¹ So encourage one another with the hope you have. Build each other up. In fact, that’s what you are doing.