Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2
O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence],
Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed;
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3
Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).
4
Let me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
6
Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.
7
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8
Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9
He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
10
All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
6
[And Ezra said],
“You are the Lord, You alone;
You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host (the heavenly bodies),
The earth and everything that is on it,
The seas and everything that is in them.
You give life to all of them,
And the heavenly host is bowing down [in worship] to You.
7
“You are the Lord God,
Who chose Abram
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees,
And gave him the name Abraham.
8
“You found his heart to be faithful [a]before You,
And You [b]made a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite, of the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his descendants.
And You have fulfilled Your promise,
For You are righteous and just.
9
“You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt,
And You heard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).
10
“Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that they behaved arrogantly toward them (the Israelites),
And You made a name for Yourself, as it is to this day.
11
“You divided the sea before them,
So that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;
You hurled their pursuers into the depths,
Like a stone into mighty and raging waters.
12
“And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light the way for them
In which they were to go.
13
“Then You came down on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven;
And You gave them fair ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14
“So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,
And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,
[c]Through Your servant Moses.
15
“You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And brought water for them out of a rock for their thirst,
And You told them to enter and take possession of
The land that You [d]swore to give them.(A)
The Day of the Lord
5 Now as to the [a]times and dates, [b]brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord is coming just as a thief [comes unexpectedly and suddenly] in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety [all is well and secure!]” then [in a moment unforeseen] destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains on a woman with child, and they will absolutely not escape [for there will be no way to escape the judgment of the Lord]. 4 But you, [c]believers, [all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God’s Son] are not in spiritual darkness [nor held by its power], that the day [of judgment] would overtake you [by surprise] like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise]. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we [believers] belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope and confident assurance of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us to [incur His] wrath [that is, He did not select us to condemn us], but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died [willingly] for us, so that whether we are awake (alive) or asleep (dead) [at Christ’s appearing], we will live together with Him [sharing eternal life]. 11 Therefore encourage and comfort one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.