Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 51[a]
The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance
1 For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.(A)
I
3 Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4 Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.(B)
6 Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.(C)
7 Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.[b](D)
8 Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,[c] that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(E)
10 You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11 Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12 A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.(F)
13 Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.(G)
14 Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.(H)
17 Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you do not desire sacrifice[d] or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.(I)
19 My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
III
Fidelity in Prosperity. 10 (A)When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,(B) 11 with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat and are satisfied,(C) 12 (D)be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that house of slavery. 13 (E)The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve,[a] and by his name shall you swear. 14 (F)You shall not go after other gods, any of the gods of the surrounding peoples— 15 for the Lord, your God who is in your midst, is a passionate God—lest the anger of the Lord, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from upon the land.
16 You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.(G) 17 But keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the decrees and the statutes he has commanded you. 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and you may enter in and possess the good land which the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 driving all your enemies out of your way, as the Lord has promised.(H)
Instruction to Children. 20 (I)Later on, when your son asks you, “What do these decrees and statutes and ordinances mean?”(J) which the Lord, our God, has enjoined on you, 21 (K)you shall say to your son, “We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand(L) 22 and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders, great and dire, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his whole house. 23 He brought us from there to bring us in and give us the land he had promised on oath to our ancestors.(M) 24 (N)The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes in fear of the Lord, our God, that we may always have as good a life as we have today. 25 This is our justice before the Lord, our God: to observe carefully this whole commandment he has enjoined on us.”
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.(A) 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with all.(B) 19 Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”(C) 20 Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.”(D) 21 Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.(A) 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, [namely] “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(B) 10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.(C)
Awareness of the End of Time.[a]
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