Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph
119 Blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the Law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who (C)comply with His [b]testimonies,
And (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no injustice;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [c](G)ordained Your precepts,
[d]That we are to keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)will not be ashamed
When I look at all Your commandments.
7 I will (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly (L)abandon me!
34 ‘(A)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. 35 All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36 As for those among you who are left, I will also bring (B)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee [a]as though from the sword, and they will fall. 37 (C)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. 38 Instead, (D)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. 39 (E)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.
40 ‘But (F)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—(G)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that (H)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, 42 then I will remember (I)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also (J)My covenant with Isaac, and (K)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 (L)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, [b]because they rejected My ordinances and their (M)soul loathed My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so (N)loathe them as (O)to destroy them, (P)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will remember for them the (Q)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that (R)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”
46 (S)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel [c]through Moses on Mount Sinai.
7 (A)Beloved, I am (B)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (C)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 [a]On the other hand, I am writing (D)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because (E)the darkness is passing away and (F)the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says that he is in the Light and yet (G)hates his (H)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 (I)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. 11 But the one who (J)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and (K)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has (L)blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, (M)little children, because (N)your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him (O)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because (P)you have overcome (Q)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because (R)you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him (S)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are (T)strong, and the (U)word of God remains in you, and (V)you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love (W)the world nor the things in the world. (X)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, (Y)the lust of the flesh and (Z)the lust of the eyes and (AA)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 (AB)The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who (AC)does the will of God continues to live forever.
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