Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 51
For the worship leader. A song of David after Nathan the prophet accused him of infidelity with Bathsheba.
One of the most difficult episodes in King David’s life was his affair with Bathsheba and all that resulted from it. Psalm 51 reflects the emotions he felt after Nathan confronted him with stealing Bathsheba and murdering her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11–12).
At one time or another, all people experience the painful consequences of sin. Psalm 51 has been a comfort and a help to millions who have prayed these words as their own. It invites all who are broken to come before God and lean upon His compassion. It teaches that we need not only to be forgiven for the wrong we have done, but we also need to be cleansed of its effects on us. Ultimately, it helps us recognize that if we are to be healed, it is the work of God to create in us a heart that is clean and a spirit that is strong.
1 Look on me with a heart of mercy, O God,
according to Your generous love.
According to Your great compassion,
wipe out every consequence of my shameful crimes.
2 Thoroughly wash me, inside and out, of all my crooked deeds.
Cleanse me from my sins.
3 For I am fully aware of all I have done wrong,
and my guilt is there, staring me in the face.
4 It was against You, only You, that I sinned,
for I have done what You say is wrong, right before Your eyes.
So when You speak, You are in the right.
When You judge, Your judgments are pure and true.[a]
5 For I was guilty from the day I was born,
a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me.
6 But still, You long to enthrone truth throughout my being;
in unseen places deep within me, You show me wisdom.
7 Cleanse me of my wickedness with hyssop, and I will be clean.
If You wash me, I will be whiter than snow.
8 Help me hear joy and happiness as my accompaniment,
so my bones, which You have broken, will dance in delight instead.
9 Cover Your face so You will not see my sins,
and erase my guilt from the record.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
restore within me a sense of being brand new.
11 Do not throw me far away from Your presence,
and do not remove Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Give back to me the deep delight of being saved by You;
let Your willing Spirit sustain me.
13 If You do, I promise to teach rebels Your ways
and help sinners find their way back to You.
14 Free me from the guilt of murder, of shedding a man’s blood,
O God who saves me.
Now my tongue, which was used to destroy, will be used to sing with deep delight of how right and just You are.
15 O Lord, pry open my lips
that this mouth will sing joyfully of Your greatness.
16 I would surrender my dearest possessions or destroy all that I prize to prove my regret,
but You don’t take pleasure in sacrifices or burnt offerings.
17 What sacrifice I can offer You is my broken spirit
because a broken spirit, O God,
a heart that honestly regrets the past,
You won’t detest.
18 Be good to Zion; grant her Your favor.
Make Jerusalem’s walls steady and strong.
19 Then there will be sacrifices made,
burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings,
With right motives that will delight You.
And costly young bulls will be offered up to Your altar, only the best.
This is the fourth time in Micah’s prophecy that the city leaders and general population of Judah are called to “listen up” (Micah 1:2; 3:1; 3:9; 6:1). Each time the prophet has something very important to say to those in Judah.
6 Listen to what the Eternal is saying.
People of Israel, stand up and plead your case to the mountains;
Let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 Listen, jury of mountains, to the complaint of the Eternal One;
listen, you enduring foundations of the earth,
For He brings a charge against His people and argues against Israel.
3 Eternal One: My people, what have I done against you?
How have I made you tired of Me? Answer Me!
4 I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, paid your ransom,
freed you from that place of slavery, and sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.[a]
5 O My people, remember how King Balak of Moab plotted against you,
how Balaam (Beor’s son) answered him, refusing to curse you?[b]
Everything happened between Shittim and Gilgal
as you took possession of the lands I promised you,
So that you might remember all the saving acts of the Eternal.
6 Israel: What should I bring into the presence of the Eternal One
to pay homage to the God Most High?
Should I come into His presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves to sacrifice?
7 Would the Eternal be pleased by thousands of sacrificial rams,
by ten thousand swollen rivers of sweet olive oil?
Should I offer my oldest son for my wrongdoing,
the child of my body to cover the sins of my life?
8 No. He has told you, mortals, what is good in His sight.
What else does the Eternal ask of you
But to live justly and to love kindness
and to walk with your True God in all humility?
31 Upon Judas’s departure, Jesus spoke:
Jesus: Now the Son of Man will be glorified as God is glorified in Him. 32 If God’s glory is in Him, His glory is also in God. The moment of this astounding glory is imminent. 33 My children, My time here is brief. You will be searching for Me; and as I told the Jews, “You cannot go where I am going.” 34 So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways. 35 Everyone will know you as My followers if you demonstrate your love to others.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.