Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A maskil of David.
32 It is a great blessing
when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
when their sins are erased.[a]
2 It is a great blessing
when the Lord says they are not guilty,
when they don’t try to hide their sins.
3 Lord, I prayed to you again and again,
but I did not talk about my sins.
So I only became weaker and more miserable.
4 Every day you made life harder for me.
I became like a dry land in the hot summertime. Selah
5 But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord.
I stopped hiding my guilt and told you about my sins.
And you forgave them all! Selah
6 That is why your loyal followers pray to you while there is still time.
Then when trouble rises like a flood, it will not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me.
You protect me from my troubles.
You surround me and protect me,
so I sing about the way you saved me. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will teach you
and guide you in the way you should live.
I will watch over you and be your guide.
9 Don’t be like a stupid horse or mule that will not come to you
unless you put a bit in its mouth and pull it with reins.”
10 Many pains will come to the wicked,
but the Lord’s faithful love will surround those who trust in him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be very happy in the Lord.
All you who want to do right, rejoice!
The New Stone Tablets
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make two more stone tablets like the first two that were broken. I will write the same words on these stones that were written on the first two stones. 2 Be ready tomorrow morning and come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one will be allowed to come with you. No one should even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even your herds of animals or flocks of sheep will not be allowed to eat grass at the bottom of the mountain.”
4 So Moses made two more stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning Moses went up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. 5 Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. 6 That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. 7 He shows his faithful love to thousands of people.[a] He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but he does not forget to punish guilty people. Not only will he punish the guilty people, but their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren will also suffer for the bad things these people do.”
8 Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord. Moses said, 9 “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people, but forgive us for the bad things we did. Accept us as your people.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write everything that I have told you. This is the agreement that I made with you and the Israelites.”
28 Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets.
Jesus Uses a Story About a Lost Sheep(A)
10 “Be careful. Don’t think these little children are not important. I tell you that these children have angels in heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in heaven. 11 [a]
12 “If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep is lost, what will he do? He will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill and go look for the lost sheep. Right? 13 And if he finds the lost sheep, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 sheep that were never lost. I can assure you, 14 in the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International