Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 32
How Blessed Is the Person Whose Rebellion Is Forgiven
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By David. A maskil.[a]
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 How blessed is the person
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person
whose guilt the Lord does not charge against him,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Obtaining the Joy of Forgiveness
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away as I groaned all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. Interlude
My moisture was dried up by the droughts of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord,” Interlude
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Because of this, let everyone who receives favor pray to you
at a time when you may be found.
Surely when the mighty waters overflow,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will protect me from distress. Interlude
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Sharing the Joy of Forgiveness
8 I will make you wise.
I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you, keeping my eye on you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding.
Its mouth must be controlled by a bit and bridle,
or else it will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but mercy will surround those who trust in the Lord.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and celebrate, all you righteous,
and shout joyfully, all you upright in heart.
New Stone Tablets: A New Copy of the Laws
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. On these tablets I will write the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one may come up with you. In fact, no person is to be seen anywhere on the entire mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”
4 Moses cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Moses got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hand. 5 The Lord came down in the cloud. He took his stand there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, 7 maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin. He will by no means clear the guilty. He calls their children and their children’s children to account for the guilt of the fathers, even to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshipped. 9 He said, “If I have now found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go along with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our guilt and our sin, and accept us as your possession.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat any bread or drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[a]
10 See to it that you do not look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man came to save what was lost.[a]
The Lost Sheep
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go looking for the one that wandered away? 13 If he finds it—Amen I tell you—he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.