Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
[a] A song of David.
25 Lord, I put my life in your hands.[b]
2 I trust in you, my God,
and I will not be disappointed.
My enemies will not laugh at me.
3 No one who trusts in you will be disappointed.
But disappointment will come to those who try to deceive others.
They will get nothing.
4 Lord, help me learn your ways.
Show me how you want me to live.
5 Guide me and teach me your truths.
You are my God, my Savior.
You are the one I have been waiting for.
6 Remember to be kind to me, Lord.
Show me the tender love that you have always had.
7 Don’t remember the sinful things I did when I was young.
Because you are good, Lord, remember me with your faithful love.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right.
He shows sinners the right way to live.
9 He teaches his ways to humble people.
He leads them with fairness.
10 The Lord is kind and true to those
who obey what he said in his agreement.
A maskil of David.
32 It is a great blessing
when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
when their sins are erased.[a]
2 It is a great blessing
when the Lord says they are not guilty,
when they don’t try to hide their sins.
3 Lord, I prayed to you again and again,
but I did not talk about my sins.
So I only became weaker and more miserable.
4 Every day you made life harder for me.
I became like a dry land in the hot summertime. Selah
5 But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord.
I stopped hiding my guilt and told you about my sins.
And you forgave them all! Selah
6 That is why your loyal followers pray to you while there is still time.
Then when trouble rises like a flood, it will not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me.
You protect me from my troubles.
You surround me and protect me,
so I sing about the way you saved me. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will teach you
and guide you in the way you should live.
I will watch over you and be your guide.
9 Don’t be like a stupid horse or mule that will not come to you
unless you put a bit in its mouth and pull it with reins.”
10 Many pains will come to the wicked,
but the Lord’s faithful love will surround those who trust in him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be very happy in the Lord.
All you who want to do right, rejoice!
2 Some people brought to him a man who was paralyzed and was lying on a mat. Jesus saw that these people had much faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, you will be glad to hear this. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law heard what Jesus said. They said to themselves, “What an insult to God for this man to say that!”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? 5-6 The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof that it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up and walk’? Then you will be able to see that I really have this power.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.”
7 The man stood up and went home. 8 The people saw this and they were amazed. They praised God for letting someone have such power.
Matthew (Levi) Follows Jesus(A)
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed Jesus.
10 Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and others with bad reputations came and ate with him and his followers. 11 The Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with these people. They asked his followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”
12 Jesus heard them say this. So he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. 13 You need to go and learn what this Scripture means: ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’[a] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International