Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Morning Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
because I pray to you.
3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need,
and I wait for your answer.
4 You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked;
you do not live with those who do evil.
5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.
You hate all those who do evil.
6 You destroy liars;
the Lord hates those who kill and trick others.
7 Because of your great love,
I can come into your Temple.
Because I fear and respect you,
I can worship in your holy Temple.
8 Lord, since I have many enemies,
show me the right thing to do.
Show me clearly how you want me to live.
9 My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth;
in their hearts they want to destroy others.
Their throats are like open graves;
they use their tongues for telling lies.
10 God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall into their own traps.
Send them away because their sins are many;
they have turned against you.
11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy;
let them sing glad songs forever.
Protect those who love you
and who are happy because of you.
12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right;
you protect them like a soldier’s shield.
A Crown for Joshua
9 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying, 10 “Take silver and gold from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who were captives in Babylon. Go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, who came from Babylon. 11 Make the silver and gold into a crown, and put it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘A man whose name is the Branch will branch out from where he is, and he will build the Temple of the Lord. 13 One man[a] will build the Temple of the Lord, and the other[b] will receive honor. One man will sit on his throne and rule, and the other will be a priest on his throne. And these two men will work together in peace.’ 14 The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord to remind Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah. 15 People living far away will come and build the Temple of the Lord. Then you will know the Lord All-Powerful has sent me to you. This will happen if you completely obey the Lord your God.”
We Have a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4 Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. 5 God’s power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. 6 This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. 7 These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is shown to you. 8 You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. 9 And you are receiving the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.