Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm
29 Give to the Lord, O sons of the powerful. Give to the Lord shining-greatness and strength. 2 Give to the Lord the honor that belongs to Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holy living.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of shining-greatness thunders. The Lord is over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is great. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the tall cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon jump like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild bull. 7 The voice of the Lord sends out lightning. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and tears away the leaves of the trees. And in His holy house everything says, “Honor to God!”
10 The Lord sat as King over the flood. The Lord sits as King forever. 11 The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will give His people peace.
The Sinful Nation of Judah
1 This is the special dream of Isaiah the son of Amoz, about Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the rule of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have brought up and have taken care of sons, but they have turned against Me. 3 An ox knows its owner. A donkey knows where to find the food its owner gives it. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand.” 4 O sinful nation, people weighed down with sin, children of those who do wrong, sons who act in a sinful way! They have left the Lord. They have hated the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him.
16 “Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Take your sinful actions from My eyes. Stop doing sinful things. 17 Learn to do good. Look for what is right and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for people. Stand up for the rights of those who have no parents. Help the woman whose husband has died. 18 “Come now, let us think about this together,” says the Lord. “Even though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snow. Even though they are dark red, they will be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obey, you will eat the best of the land. 20 But if you are not willing and turn against Me, you will be destroyed by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
8 Now, because of this, those who belong to Christ will not suffer the punishment of sin. 2 The power of the Holy Spirit has made me free from the power of sin and death. This power is mine because I belong to Christ Jesus. 3 The Law could not make me free from the power of sin and death. It was weak because it had to work with weak human beings. But God sent His own Son. He came to earth in a body of flesh which could be tempted to sin as we in our bodies can be. He gave Himself to take away sin. By doing that, He took away the power sin had over us. 4 In that way, Jesus did for us what the Law said had to be done. We do not do what our sinful old selves tell us to do anymore. Now we do what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. 5 Those who let their sinful old selves tell them what to do live under that power of their sinful old selves. But those who let the Holy Spirit tell them what to do are under His power. 6 If your sinful old self is the boss over your mind, it leads to death. But if the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace. 7 The mind that thinks only of ways to please the sinful old self is fighting against God. It is not able to obey God’s Laws. It never can. 8 Those who do what their sinful old selves want to do cannot please God.
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