Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for the Nation

80 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock! You Who sit on Your throne above the angels, let Your light shine! ² Stir up Your power in front of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manassah, and come to save us! ³ O God, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

⁴ O Lord God of all, how long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people? ⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears. And You have made them drink a big amount of tears. ⁶ You have made us an object of arguing to our neighbors. Those who hate us laugh among themselves. ⁷ O God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

¹⁷ Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, the son of man you have made strong for Yourself. ¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from You. Give us new life again, and we will call on Your name. ¹⁹ O Lord God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹ Yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken of Your servant’s family in the future. And this is the way of man, O Lord God. ²⁰ What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God. ²¹ Because of Your Word and Your own heart, You have done all these great things to let Your servant know. ²² For this reason You are great, O Lord God. There is none like You. And there is no God but You, by all that we have heard with our ears.

Sons of God

4 Let me say this another way. A young child who will get all the riches of his family is not different from a servant who is owned by the family. And yet the young child owns everything. ² While he is young, he is cared for by men his father trusts. These men tell the child what he can and cannot do. The child cannot do what he wants to do until he has become a certain age. ³ We were as children also held by the Law. We obeyed the Law in our religious worship. ⁴ But at the right time, God sent His Son. A woman gave birth to Him under the Law. ⁵ This all happened so He could buy with His blood and make free all those who were held by the Law. Then we might become the sons of God. ⁶ Because you are the sons of God, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. The Spirit cries, “Father!” ⁷ So now you are no longer a servant who is owned by someone. You are a son. If you are a son, then you will receive what God has promised through Christ.