Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A psalm of David.
25 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
Don’t let my enemies win the battle over me.
3 Those who put their hope in you
will never be put to shame.
But those who lie to other people for no reason
will be put to shame.
4 Lord, show me your ways.
Teach me how to follow you.
5 Guide me in your truth. Teach me.
You are God my Savior.
I put my hope in you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your great mercy and love.
You have shown them to your people for a long time.
7 Don’t remember the sins I committed when I was young.
Don’t remember how often I refused to obey you.
Remember me because you love me.
Lord, you are good.
8 The Lord is honest and good.
He teaches sinners to walk in his ways.
9 He shows those who aren’t proud how to do what is right.
He teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and faithful
toward those who obey what his covenant commands.
Daniel Prays to the Lord
9 It was the first year that Darius was king of Babylon. He was from Media and was the son of Xerxes. 2 In that year I learned from the Scriptures that Jerusalem would remain destroyed for 70 years. That was what the Lord had told Jeremiah the prophet. 3 So I prayed to the Lord God. I begged him. I made many appeals to him. I didn’t eat anything. I put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. And I sat down in ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God. I admitted that we had sinned. I said,
“Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. 5 We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.
7 “Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you. 8 Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you. 9 You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you. 10 You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets. 11 All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.
“Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you. 12 The warnings you gave us and our rulers have come true. You have brought great trouble on us. Nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever happened anywhere else on earth. 13 The curses that are written in the Law of Moses have fallen on us. We have received nothing but trouble. You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t asked for your favor. We haven’t turned away from our sins. We’ve refused to pay attention to the laws you gave us. 14 Lord, you didn’t hold back from bringing this trouble on us. You always do what is right. But we haven’t obeyed you.
3 We announce to you what we have seen and heard. We do it so you can share life together with us. And we share life with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. 6 Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.
8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.