Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Two Songs of Praise
12 In days to come, the people of Israel will sing,
“Lord, we will praise you.
You were angry with us.
But now your anger has turned away from us.
And you have brought us comfort.
2 God, you are the one who saves us.
We will trust in you.
Then we won’t be afraid.
Lord, you are the one who gives us strength.
You are the one who keeps us safe.
Lord, you have saved us.”
3 People of Israel, he will save you.
That will bring you joy like water brought up from wells.
4 In days to come, the people of Israel will sing,
“Give praise to the Lord. Make his name known.
Tell the nations what he has done.
Announce how honored he is.
5 Sing to the Lord. He has done glorious things.
Let it be known all over the world.
6 People of Zion, give a loud shout!
Sing for joy!
The Holy One of Israel is among you.
And he is great.”
The Lord Comforts People Who Are Sorry for Their Sins
14 A messenger says,
“Build up the road! Build it up! Get it ready!
Remove anything that would keep my people from coming back.”
15 The God who is highly honored lives forever.
His name is holy. He says,
“I live in a high and holy place.
But I also live with anyone who turns away from their sins.
I live with anyone who is not proud.
I give new life to them.
I give it to anyone who turns away from their sins.
16 I will not find fault with my people forever.
I will not always be angry with them.
If I were, I would cause their spirits to grow weak.
The people I created would faint away.
17 I was very angry with them.
They always longed for more and more of everything.
So I punished them for that sin.
I turned my face away from them because I was angry.
But they kept on wanting their own way.
18 I have seen what they have done.
But I will heal them.
I will guide them.
I will give those who mourn in Israel the comfort they had before.
19 Then they will praise me.
I will give perfect peace to those who are far away and those who are near.
And I will heal them,” says the Lord.
20 But those who are evil are like the rolling sea.
It never rests.
Its waves toss up mud and sand.
21 “There is no peace for those who are evil,” says my God.
God’s Anger Against Sinners
18 God shows his anger from heaven. It is against all the godless and evil things people do. They are so evil that they say no to the truth. 19 The truth about God is plain to them. God has made it plain. 20 Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I’m talking about his eternal power and about the fact that he is God. Those things can be seen in what he has made. So people have no excuse for what they do.
21 They knew God. But they didn’t honor him as God. They didn’t thank him. Their thinking became worthless. Their foolish hearts became dark. 22 They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves. 23 They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles.
24 So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They made one another’s bodies impure by what they did. 25 They chose a lie instead of the truth about God. They worshiped and served created things. They didn’t worship the Creator. But he is praised forever. Amen.
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