Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 My soul, be quiet before God,
for from him comes my hope.
6 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower;
nothing will shake me.
7 I rely on God who is my deliverance and my glory;
he is my strong rock,
and my refuge is in God.
8 People, in every situation put your trust in God;[a]
pour out your heart before him;
for God is a refuge for us.
9 Human beings[b] are a mere vapor,
while people in high positions[c] are not what they appear.
When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing;
even when weighed together, they are less than nothing.
10 Don’t trust in oppression
or put false hope in stealing;
if you become wealthy,
do not set your heart on it.
11 God spoke once,
but I heard it twice,
“Power belongs to God.”
12 Also to you, Lord, belongs gracious love,
because you reward each person according to what he does.
Jeremiah’s Complaint to the Lord
7 You deceived me, Lord,
and I’ve been deceived.
You overpowered me,
and you prevailed.
I’ve become a laughing stock all day long,
and everyone mocks me.
8 Indeed, as often as I speak, I cry out,
and shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For this message from the Lord has caused me
constant[a] reproach and derision.
9 When I say, “I won’t remember the Lord[b],
nor will I speak in his name anymore,
then there is this burning fire in my heart.
It is bound up in my bones,
I grow weary of trying to hold it in,
and I cannot do it!
10 Indeed, I hear many people whispering,
“Terror on every side.[c]
Denounce him, let’s denounce him!”
All my close friends watch my steps and say,
“Perhaps he will be deceived,
and we can prevail against him
and take vengeance on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a fearsome warrior.
Therefore, those who pursue me will stumble
and won’t prevail.
They’ll be put to great shame,
when they don’t succeed.
Their everlasting disgrace won’t be forgotten.
12 Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who tests the righteous,
who sees the inner motives[d] and the heart,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I’ve committed my case to you.
13 Sing to the Lord,
give praise to the Lord!
For he saves the life of the poor
from the hand of the wicked.
Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
3 Dear friends, this is now the second of two letters[a] I am writing to you, in which I have been trying to stimulate your pure minds by reminding you 2 to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken[b] through your apostles.
3 First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us[c] 4 by saying, “What happened to the Messiah’s[d] promise to return? Ever since our ancestors died,[e] everything continues as it did from the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately ignore the fact that long ago the heavens existed and the earth was formed by God’s word out of water and with water, 6 by which the world at that time was deluged with water and destroyed. 7 Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.
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