Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the music director. A Psalm of David, when [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (A)Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of (B)Your compassion, (C)wipe out my wrongdoings.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I (F)know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [b]are justified [c]when You speak
And [d]blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire (K)truth in the [e]innermost being,
And in secret You will (L)make wisdom known to me.
7 [f]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
[g]Cleanse me, and I will be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [h]Let me hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones You have broken rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.
The Altar of Incense
30 “Now you shall make (A)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 Its length shall be [a]a cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be [b]of one piece with it. 3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its [c]sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it. 4 You shall also make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two sides—on [d]opposite sides—and [e]they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 You shall put [f]this altar in front of the veil that is [g]near the ark of the testimony, in front of the [h](B)atoning cover that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. 8 And when Aaron sets up the lamps at [i]twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer any [j]strange incense on [k]this altar, or burnt offering, or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. 10 However, Aaron shall (C)make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
14 Therefore, since we have a great (A)high priest who has (B)passed through the heavens, Jesus (C)the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our (D)confession. 15 For we do not have (E)a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been (F)tempted in all things just as we are, yet (G)without sin. 16 Therefore let’s (H)approach the throne of grace with (I)confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.
The Perfect High Priest
5 For every high priest (J)taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in (K)things pertaining to God, in order to (L)offer both gifts and sacrifices (M)for sins; 2 [a](N)he can deal gently with the (O)ignorant and (P)misguided, since he himself also is [b](Q)clothed in weakness; 3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices (R)for sins for himself, (S)as well as for the people. 4 And (T)no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just (U)as Aaron also was.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.