Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise for God’s Goodness

147 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God. For it is pleasing and praise is right. ² The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers those of Israel who had been taken away. ³ He heals those who have a broken heart. He heals their sorrows. ⁴ He knows the number of the stars. He gives names to all of them. ⁵ Great is our Lord, and great in power. His understanding has no end. ⁶ The Lord lifts up those who are suffering, and He brings the sinful down to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the Lord with thanks. Sing praises to our God on the harp. ⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds. He gives rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the mountains. ⁹ He gives food to the animals, and to the young ravens that cry. ¹⁰ His joy is not in the strength of a horse. He does not find joy in the legs of a man. ¹¹ But the Lord favors those who fear Him and those who wait for His loving-kindness.

²⁰ He has not done this with any other nation. They do not know His Law. Praise the Lord!

¹⁰ A man who is right with God cares for his animal, but the sinful man is hard and has no pity.

¹¹ He who works his land will have all the bread he needs, but he who follows what is of no worth has no wisdom.

¹² The sinful man wants what sinful men have, but the root of those who are right with God gives fruit.

¹³ A sinful man is trapped by the sin of his lips, but those who are right with God will get away from trouble.

¹⁴ A man will be filled with good from the fruit of his words, and the work of a man’s hands will return to him.

¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to good teaching.

¹⁶ The anger of a fool is known at once, but a wise man does not speak when he is spoken against.

¹⁷ He who speaks the truth tells what is right, but a liar tells lies.

¹⁸ There is one whose foolish words cut like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹ Lips that tell the truth will last forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a little while.

²⁰ Lying is in the heart of those who plan what is bad, but those who plan peace have joy.

²¹ No trouble comes upon those who are right with God, but the sinful are filled with trouble.

² Listen to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you have the religious act of becoming a Jew done on you, Christ will be of no use to you at all. ³ I say it again. Every man who has the religious act of becoming a Jew done on him must obey every Law. ⁴ If you expect to be made right with God by obeying the Law, then you have turned away from Christ and His loving-favor. ⁵ We are waiting for the hope of being made right with God. This will come through the Holy Spirit and by faith. ⁶ If we belong to Jesus Christ, it means nothing to have or not to have gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. But faith working through love is important.

⁷ You were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth? ⁸ Whatever he used did not come from the One Who chose you to have life. ⁹ It only takes a little yeast to make the whole loaf of bread rise. ¹⁰ I feel I can trust you because of what the Lord has done in your life. I believe you will not follow another way. Whoever is trying to lead you in the wrong way will suffer for it. ¹¹ Christian brothers, if I would still preach that people must go through the religious act of becoming a Jew to be a Christian, I would not be suffering from those who are making it hard for me. If I preached like that, the Jews would have no reason to be against the cross of Christ. ¹² I wish those who are so willing to cut your bodies would complete the job by cutting themselves off from you.

¹³ Christian brother, you were chosen to be free. Be careful that you do not please your old selves by sinning because you are free. Live this free life by loving and helping others. ¹⁴ You obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ^{(A) 15} But if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.