Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Salvation
12 In that day you will say:
I will give thanks to you, Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away,
and you comfort me.
2 Surely God is my salvation.
I will trust him and will not be afraid,
because Yah, the Lord,[a] is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
Give thanks to the Lord! Proclaim[b] his name.
Declare among the peoples what he has done.
Proclaim that his name is exalted!
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!
Let this be known in all the earth!
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter[c] of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!
14 I will say,[a]
“Build up, build up the highway.
Prepare the way.
Remove the stumbling block from the way of my people.”
15 Certainly this is what the High and Lofty One says,
the one who dwells with his people forever,
and whose name is holy:
I dwell in a high and holy place,
yet also with the one who is crushed and lowly in spirit,
in order to revive the spirit of those who have been pushed down,
and to revive the hearts of those who have been crushed.
16 Surely I will not accuse forever,
and I will not always be angry,
because every spirit would grow weak in my presence,
and every breath of life, which I made, would fail.
17 Because of the guilt from their selfish gain, I was angry,
and I struck them and hid my face.
I was angry,
but the deserter[b] kept walking in the way his heart desired.
18 I saw his ways,
but I will heal him, and I will lead him,
and I will restore comfort to him
and to all who mourn with him.
19 I am the one who creates praise as the fruit of their lips.[c]
Peace, peace to the one far off and to the one nearby,
says the Lord,
and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which is not able to rest.
Its waters toss up dirt and mud.
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
God’s Anger on All Who Reject Him
18 Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness. 19 This happens because what can be known about God is evident among them, because God made it evident among them. 20 In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse, 21 because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22 Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. 24 So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. 25 Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.