Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. When the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
A Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
51 Have mercy, God, according to your gracious love,
according to your unlimited compassion,
erase my transgressions.
2 Wash me from my iniquity,
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgression;
my sin remains continuously before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned,
and done what was evil in your sight.
As a result, you are just in your pronouncement
and clear in your judgment.
5 Indeed, in iniquity I was brought forth;
in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Indeed, you are pleased with truth in the inner person,
and you will teach me wisdom in my[a] innermost parts.
7 Purge me with hyssop,
and I will be clean.
Wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me know[b] joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your countenance from my sins
and erase the record of my iniquities.
10 God, create a pure heart in me,
and renew a right attitude within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence;
do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and let a willing attitude control me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors about your ways,
and sinners will turn to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood,[c]
God, God of my salvation.
Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices,
or I would give them,
nor do you desire burnt offerings.
17 True sacrifice to God[d] is a broken spirit.
A broken and chastened heart, God,
you will not despise.
18 Show favor to Zion in your good pleasure;
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices,
with burnt offerings, and with whole burnt offerings.
Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
The Lord’s Indictment against Israel
6 Please hear what the Lord says:
“Get up and make your case before the mountains,
and let the hills listen to your voice.
2 Listen, you mountains, to the Lord’s argument!
Listen, you[a] strong foundations of the earth,
because the Lord has a dispute with his people,
and he will set out his case before Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you,
and how have I offended you?
Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and ransomed you from the house of slavery,
sending Moses, Aaron, and Miriam into your presence.
5 “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated,
and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”
The Nature of True Righteousness
6 How am I to present myself in the Lord’s presence
and bow in the presence of the High God?
Should I present myself with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
or with endless[b] rivers of oil?
Am I to give my firstborn to pay for[c] my rebellion,
the fruit of my body in exchange for[d] my soul?
8 He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good
and what the Lord is requiring from you—
to act with justice,
to treasure the Lord’s[e] gracious love,
and to walk humbly in the company of your God.
The New Commandment
31 After Judas[a] had gone out, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and God has been glorified by him. 32 If God has been glorified by him,[b] God himself also will glorify the Son of Man,[c] and he will do so[d] quickly. 33 Little children, I’m with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but what I told the Jewish leaders[e] I now tell you, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come.’ 34 I’m giving you a new commandment…to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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