Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.
Save me and rescue me
from those who are chasing me.
2 Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.
They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something wrong?
4 Have I done wrong to my friend
or stolen without reason from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.
Let him trample me into the dust
and bury me in the ground. Selah
6 Lord, rise up in your anger;
stand up against my enemies’ anger.
Get up and demand fairness.
7 Gather the nations around you
and rule them from above.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, defend me because I am right,
because I have done no wrong, God Most High.
9 God, you do what is right.
You know our thoughts and feelings.
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people,
and help those who do what is right.
10 God protects me like a shield;
he saves those whose hearts are right.
11 God judges by what is right,
and God is always ready to punish the wicked.
12 If they do not change their lives,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who think up evil
and plan trouble and tell lies.
15 They dig a hole to trap others,
but they will fall into it themselves.
16 They will get themselves into trouble;
the violence they cause will hurt only themselves.
17 I praise the Lord because he does what is right.
I sing praises to the Lord Most High.
Israel Needs to Repent
5 Listen to this funeral song that I sing about you, people of Israel.
2 “The young girl Israel has fallen,
and she will not rise up again.
She was left alone in her own land,
and there is no one to help her up.”
3 This is what the Lord God says:
“If a thousand soldiers leave a city,
only a hundred will return;
if a hundred soldiers leave a city,
only ten will return.”
4 This is what the Lord says to the nation of Israel:
“Come to me and live.
5 But do not look in Bethel
or go to Gilgal,
and do not go down to Beersheba.
The people of Gilgal will be taken away as captives,
and Bethel will become nothing.”
6 Come to the Lord and live,
or he will move like fire against the descendants of Joseph.
The fire will burn Bethel,
and there will be no one to put it out.
7 You turn justice upside down,
and you throw on the ground what is right.
8 God is the one who made the star groups Pleiades and Orion;
he changes darkness into the morning light,
and the day into dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea
to pour out on the earth.
The Lord is his name.
9 He destroys the protected city;
he ruins the strong, walled city.
The King Will Judge All People
31 “The Son of Man will come again in his great glory, with all his angels. He will be King and sit on his great throne. 32 All the nations of the world will be gathered before him, and he will separate them into two groups as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 The Son of Man will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has given you his blessing. Receive the kingdom God has prepared for you since the world was made. 35 I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house. 36 I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then the good people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our house? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’
40 “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’
41 “Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me. You will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever that was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
44 “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or alone and away from home or without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?’
45 “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me.’
46 “These people will go off to be punished forever, but the good people will go to live forever.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.