Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A song of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after David’s sin with Bathsheba.
51 God, be merciful to me
because you are loving.
Because you are always ready to be merciful,
wipe out all my wrongs.
2 Wash away all my guilt
and make me clean again.
3 I know about my wrongs.
I can’t forget my sin.
4 You are the one I have sinned against.
I have done what you say is wrong.
So you are right when you speak.
You are fair when you judge me.
5 I was brought into this world in sin.
In sin my mother gave birth to me.
6 You want me to be completely truthful.
So teach me wisdom.
7 Take away my sin, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness.
Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
9 Turn your face from my sins.
Wipe out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a pure heart, God.
Make my spirit right again.
11 Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me back the joy that comes when you save me.
Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong.
And sinners will turn back to you.
14 God, save me from the guilt of murder.
God, you are the one who saves me.
I will sing about your goodness.
15 Lord, let me speak
so I may praise you.
16 You are not pleased by sacrifices.
Otherwise, I would give them.
You don’t want burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice God wants is a willing spirit.
God, you will not reject
a heart that is broken and sorry for its sin.
18 Do whatever good you wish for Jerusalem.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings.
And bulls will be offered on your altar.
10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land. He promised it to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build. 11 The houses there are full of good things that you did not buy. They have wells you did not dig. There are vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want. 12 But be careful! Do not forget the Lord. He brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
13 Respect the Lord your God. Serve only him. Make your promises in his name. 14 Do not worship other gods as the people around you do. 15 The Lord your God is a jealous God. He is present with you. If you worship other gods, he will become angry with you. And he will destroy you from the earth. 16 Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God. Obey the rules and laws he has given you. 18 Do what the Lord says is good and right. Then things will go well for you. Then you may go in and take the good land the Lord promised to your ancestors. 19 He will force all your enemies out as you go in. This is what the Lord has said.
20 In the future your son will ask you, “What do the laws, commands and rules the Lord our God gave us mean?” 21 Tell him, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt. But the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power. 22 The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles. He did them to Egypt, the king and his whole family. 23 The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us here. And he will give us the land he promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands. And we must respect the Lord our God. Then we will always do well and stay alive as we are today. 25 The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God. He has commanded it.”
17 If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 Do your best to live in peace with everyone. 19 My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I am the One who punishes; I will pay people back,”[a] says the Lord. 20 But you should do this:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if your enemy is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.” Proverbs 25:21-22
21 Do not let evil defeat you. Defeat evil by doing good.
Loving Others
8 Do not owe people anything. But you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has obeyed all the law. 9 The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.”[a] All these commands and all others are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[b] 10 Love never hurts a neighbor. So loving is obeying all the law.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.