Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David wrote this song.
Thank God for who he is
138 I will thank you, Lord, with my whole being.
I will sing and praise you in front of the gods.[a]
2 I look towards your holy temple,
and I bend down to worship you.
I thank you for who you are.
You love your people and they can always trust you.
You are more famous than anyone,
because you always do what you promise.
3 When I prayed to you, you answered me.
You made me brave and strong.
4 All the kings in the world will thank you, Lord,
when they hear the promises that you have made.
5 They will sing about the things that you have done,
because they see that you are great, Lord.
6 Yes, the Lord is high above the earth.
But he takes care of humble people.
He also knows what proud people are doing,
even if they try to hide.[b]
7 When there is danger all round me,
you help me to be strong.
When my enemy is angry, you fight against him.
You save me with your strong right hand.[c]
8 The Lord stands with me to do what he has promised.
Yes, Lord, your faithful love will always continue.
You have made us who we are,
so do not leave us now!
God's Covenant Box causes trouble for the Philistines
5 When the Philistines took God's Covenant Box, they took it from Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.[a] 2 They carried it into the temple of Dagon, their god. They put the box next to the idol of Dagon. 3 The next morning, the people in Ashdod got up early. They saw that Dagon had fallen down in front of the Lord's Covenant Box. The idol's face was touching the ground. So they took Dagon and they put him back in his place.
4 The next morning, they got up early again. They saw that Dagon had fallen down in front of the Lord's Covenant Box again! His head and both his hands had broken off. They were lying on the step of the temple's door. Only his body remained together. 5 Because of that, even today Dagon's priests and other people never walk on the step of Dagon's temple in Ashdod.
6 The Lord punished the people who lived in Ashdod. He caused them to have a lot of pain, as well as the people in the places near Ashdod. He caused tumours to grow on their bodies.[b] 7 When the people in Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, ‘The Covenant Box of Israel's God must not stay here with us. He is punishing us and our god Dagon.’
8 So the Philistine rulers met together. Ashdod's people asked them, ‘What should we do with the Covenant Box of Israel's God?’
The rulers answered, ‘Take it away to Gath.’ So the men took it to that city.[c]
9 After they had moved the Covenant Box to Gath, the Lord punished the people in that city too. He made them all very afraid. He caused tumours to grow on them, young people as well as old people. 10 So then they took God's Covenant Box to Ekron.[d]
When God's Covenant Box arrived in Ekron, the people screamed. They said, ‘They have brought the Covenant Box of Israel's God here! They want to kill us all!’ 11 So they called the Philistine rulers to meet together. Ekron's people said to them, ‘Take away the Covenant Box of Israel's God! Send it back to its proper place. If you leave it here, it will kill us and all our families.’
All the people in the town were afraid of death. God had already started to punish them a lot. 12 Many people had already died. All the other people in the town had tumours on their bodies. So they cried loudly up to the skies for help.
God has prepared a new body for us
5 Our bodies are like a tent that we live in here on earth. One day, that home will come to an end. But we know that God will give us a new home. It is not a house that a human builder has built. God has built it for us in heaven and we will live there for ever. 2 Now, while we are in our body here on earth, we cry inside ourselves. We want to go and live in our house that is in heaven. 3 That will be like new clothes that we put on. When we go to live there, we will not be without clothes and ashamed.
4 While we still live in our bodies here on earth, we cry inside ourselves. Many difficult things happen to us. We do not really want to take off our old body. But we do want to put on our new body, like new clothes. When that happens, we will no longer need our old body which had to die. Instead we will have a new body that will live for ever. 5 God is the one who has prepared us to have a new life in heaven one day. He has given his Spirit to be with us now. Because of that, we know that we will receive all God's good things one day.
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