Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light and the one who saves me.
So why should I fear anyone?
The Lord protects my life.
So why should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to destroy my body.
My enemies and those who hate me attack me,
but they are overwhelmed and defeated.
3 If an army surrounds me,
I will not be afraid.
If war breaks out,
I will trust the Lord.
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I want:
Let me live in the Lord’s house
all my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and look with my own eyes at his Temple.
5 During danger he will keep me safe in his shelter.
He will hide me in his Holy Tent,
or he will keep me safe on a high mountain.
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent.
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear me when I call;
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, worship him.”
So I come to worship you, Lord.
9 Do not turn away from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or leave me alone,
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother leave me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me to do what is right
because I have enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because they tell lies about me
and say they will hurt me.
13 I truly believe
I will live to see the Lord’s goodness.
14 Wait for the Lord’s help.
Be strong and brave,
and wait for the Lord’s help.
7 The path of life is level for those who are right with God;
Lord, you make the way of life smooth for those people.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting
for your way of justice.
Our souls want to remember
you and your name.
9 My soul wants to be with you at night,
and my spirit wants to be with you at the dawn of every day.
When your way of justice comes to the land,
people of the world will learn the right way of living.
10 Evil people will not learn to do good
even if you show them kindness.
They will continue doing evil, even if they live in a good world;
they never see the Lord’s greatness.
11 Lord, you are ready to punish those people,
but they do not see that.
Show them your strong love for your people.
Then those who are evil will be ashamed.
Burn them in the fire
you have prepared for your enemies.
12 Lord, all our success is because of what you have done,
so give us peace.
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
but we honor only you.
14 Those masters are now dead;
their ghosts will not rise from death.
You punished and destroyed them
and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you multiplied the number of your people;
you multiplied them and brought honor to yourself.
You made the borders of the land wide.
37 When the people heard this, they felt guilty and asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”
40 Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of today’s people!” 41 Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day. 42 They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching, sharing, breaking bread,[a] and praying together.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.