Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer of Thanks

30 I will lift You up, O Lord, for You have lifted me up. You have not let those who hate me stand over me in joy. ² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help and You healed me. ³ O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep. ⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, all you who belong to Him. Give thanks to His holy name. ⁵ For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

⁶ As for me, when all was going well, I said, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to You, O Lord. I begged the Lord for loving-kindness. ⁹ What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord. And show me loving-kindness. O Lord, be my Helper. ¹¹ You have turned my crying into dancing.You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy. ¹² So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Elisha and the Shunammite’s Son

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem. An important woman was there, who talked him into eating some food. So every time he passed by, he would turn in there to eat food. ⁹ She said to her husband, “Now I see that this is a holy man of God who is always passing by. ¹⁰ Let us make a little room on the second floor. And let us put a bed there for him, and a table and a chair and a lamp. Then when he comes to us, he can go in there.”

¹¹ One day Elisha came there and went into the room on the second floor, and rested. ¹² He said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she came and stood in front of him. ¹³ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘See, you have done much for us. What can I do for you? Should I speak to the king or to the captain of the army for you?’” And she answered, “I live among my own people.” ¹⁴ So Elisha said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ Elisha said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood at the door. ¹⁶ Then he said, “At this time next year you will hold a son in your arms.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God. Do not lie to your woman servant.” ¹⁷ Later she was going to have a child and she gave birth to a son at that time the next year, as Elisha had told her.

¹⁴ We know that the Law is right and good, but I am a person who does what is wrong and bad. I am not my own boss. Sin is my boss. ¹⁵ I do not understand myself. I want to do what is right but I do not do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ When I do the thing I do not want to do, it shows me that the Law is right and good. ¹⁷ So I am not doing it. Sin living in me is doing it. ¹⁸ I know there is nothing good in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do good but I do not. ¹⁹ I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I am always doing the sinful things I do not want to do. ²⁰ If I am always doing the very thing I do not want to do, it means I am no longer the one who does it. It is sin that lives in me. ²¹ This has become my way of life: When I want to do what is right, I always do what is wrong. ²² My mind and heart agree with the Law of God. ²³ But there is a different law at work deep inside of me that fights with my mind. This law of sin holds me in its power because sin is still in me. ²⁴ There is no happiness in me! Who can set me free from my sinful old self? ²⁵ God’s Law has power over my mind, but sin still has power over my sinful old self. I thank God I can be free through Jesus Christ our Lord!