Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A [a]Contemplation.
32 Blessed is he whose (A)transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not [b]impute iniquity,
And (C)in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your (D)hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
(E)I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 (F)For this cause everyone who is godly shall (G)pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7 (H)You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with (I)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the (J)horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
14 On that day the Lord (A)exalted[a] Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear (B)the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place (C)and overflowed all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped (D)in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And (E)those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: (F)“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, saying, (G)‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on (H)dry land’; 23 for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, (I)which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 (J)that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is (K)mighty, that you may (L)fear the Lord your God [b]forever.”
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For (A)we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, (B)well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 (C)For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, (D)that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, (E)the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
Be Reconciled to God
12 For (F)we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity (G)to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For (H)if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that (I)if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, (J)that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.