Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of praise for the Sabbath.
92 It is good to praise the Lord.
God Most High, it is good to praise your name.
2 It is good to sing about your love in the morning
and about your faithfulness at night.
3 It is good to play for you on the ten-stringed instrument and lyre
and to add the soft sounds of the harp to my praise.
4 Lord, you make us very happy because of what you did.
I gladly sing about it.
12 Good people are like budding palm trees.
They grow strong like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house[a] of the Lord.
They grow strong there in the courtyards of our God.
14 Even when they are old,
they will continue producing fruit like young, healthy trees.
15 They are there to show everyone that the Lord is good.[b]
He is my Rock, and he does no wrong.[c]
13 A wise son listens to his father’s advice, but a proud son will not listen to correction.
2 People get good things for the words they say, but those who cannot be trusted say only bad things.
3 People who are careful about what they say will save their lives, but those who speak without thinking will be destroyed.
4 Lazy people always want things but never get them. Those who work hard get plenty.
5 Good people hate lies, but the wicked do evil, shameful things.
6 Goodness protects honest people, but evil destroys those who love to sin.
7 Some people pretend they are rich, but they have nothing. Others pretend they are poor, but they are really rich.
8 The rich might have to pay a ransom to save their lives, but the poor never receive such threats.
9 The light of those who do right shines brighter and brighter, but the lamp of the wicked becomes darker and darker.[a]
10 Pride causes arguments, but those who listen to others are wise.
11 Money gained by cheating others will soon be gone. Money earned through hard work will grow and grow.
12 Hope that is delayed makes you sad, but a wish that comes true fills you with joy.
Adam and Christ
12 Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before the Law of Moses. But God does not consider people guilty of sin if there is no law. 14 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin that same way had to die.
That one man, Adam, can be compared to Christ, the one who was coming in the future. 15 But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him. 17 One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and his great gift of being made right. Surely they will have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. 19 One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right. 20 The law was brought in so that more people would sin the way Adam did. But where sin increased, there was even more of God’s grace. 21 Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Dead to Sin but Alive in Christ
6 So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace? 2 Of course not! Our old sinful life ended. It’s dead. So how can we continue living in sin?
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International