Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. 25 There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. 26 The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.
27 They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. 29 They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.
31 May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. 32 He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
11 Shake with fear, you women who live an easy life. Be troubled, you daughters, who feel safe. Take off your clothes and cover your bodies with cloth made from hair. 12 Beat your breasts for the good fields, for the vine full of fruit, 13 and for the land of my people in which thorns and thistles will come up. Yes, be sorry for all the houses of joy, and for the happy city, 14 because the king’s house will be empty. The city full of people will be left empty. The hill and the watch-tower will become a place for wild animals forever, a happy place for wild donkeys, a field for flocks. 15 It will be this way until the Spirit is poured out upon us from heaven, and the desert becomes a field giving so much fruit, that it seems as if it has many trees. 16 Then what is right and fair will be in the desert. What is right and good will be in the field of much fruit. 17 The work of being right and good will give peace. From the right and good work will come quiet trust forever.
16 I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves. 17 The things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you. 19 The things your sinful old self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living, 20 worshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the other groups are wrong, false teaching, 21 wanting something someone else has, killing other people, using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in the holy nation of God. 22 But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things. 24 Those of us who belong to Christ have nailed our sinful old selves on His cross. Our sinful desires are now dead.
25 If the Holy Spirit is living in us, let us be led by Him in all things.
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