Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A prayer of Moses, God's servant.
God lives for ever![a]
90 Lord, from long ago,
you have always been a safe home for us.[b]
2 From before the mountains began,
and before you made the world,
you were already there, as God.
You have no beginning and no end.
3 People return to dust in the ground when they die.
You say, ‘Become dust again, you people.’[c]
4 For you, a thousand years is only a short time.
They pass as quickly as a day for you,
or just a few hours in the night.
5 You cause people's lives to end,
as a dream finishes when you wake up.
People are like grass that appears in the morning.
6 During the morning, it grows well.
By the evening,
it becomes dry and it dies.
7 Your anger destroys us,
and we become very afraid.
8 All our sins are there for you to see.
You even see the sins that we have tried to hide.
9 Your anger gives us trouble all through our lives.
Then our lives end in a short groan.
10 The number of our days make 70 years,
or maybe 80 years if we are strong enough.
But even in the best years of our lives,
we have trouble and pain.
Our lives quickly pass,
and we hurry towards death.
11 Lord, nobody knows all the power of your anger.
It is your anger that causes people to be afraid of you.
12 Teach us to count carefully the days of our short lives.
Then we will be wise in how we live.
13 Lord, return to help us!
How long will you be angry with us?
Please be kind to us, your servants!
14 Show your faithful love to us every morning.
Then we will sing with joy,
and we will be happy for as long as we live.
15 For many years you have sent trouble to us.
Now, please make us happy
for as many years as you have given us pain.
16 Do great things again,
so that we, your servants, see them!
Let our children see that you rule as King!
17 Yes, may the Lord our God bless us.
May everything that we do go well!
Yes, may everything go well!
David prays
18 Then King David went into the Lord's tent.[a] He sat down and he prayed to the Lord.
He said, ‘Almighty Lord, I am not a special person and my family is not special. You have helped me very much and I do not deserve it. 19 You have also made a promise about the descendants in my family, Almighty Lord. You have promised to help them in the future, as well as me. I am only a man but you have shown this to me, Almighty Lord.
20 I am your servant, Almighty Lord, and you know me completely. There is nothing more that I can say. 21 Because of your covenant you have chosen to do all these great things. You have told me, your servant, what you promise to do. 22 Almighty Lord, you are very great. There is nobody like you. You alone are God. What we have heard about you is true! 23 There is no other nation on earth like your people, Israel. We are the only nation that you have rescued so that we would belong to you. You did that to show that your name is great. You did great miracles to rescue your people from Egypt where they were slaves. Then you chased out other nations and their gods from the land that you were giving to your people. 24 You chose Israel to be your own people for all time. You, Lord, became our God.
25 Lord God, please do the things that you have promised to do for me, your servant, and for my family. Continue to do for ever what you have promised to do. 26 Then people will always give honour to your great name. They will say, “The Lord Almighty is the God who rules over Israel!” And David's descendants will continue to serve you as kings.
27 Lord Almighty, Israel's God, you have made this promise to me, your servant. You have said to me, “You will always have descendants who will rule. That is the house that I will build for you.” That is why I am not afraid to pray to you like this.
28 Almighty Lord, you are the true God. We trust your promises. You have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 I pray that you will be pleased to bless my family and my descendants. Then we will serve you faithfully for ever. Almighty Lord, you have promised to do this. So I know that you will continue to bless my descendants for ever.’
12 Jesus says, ‘Listen! I will come quickly! I know what each person has done. I will give each one what they ought to have. I am ready to do that. 13 I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.
14 Believers who keep themselves clean will be happy. They are like people who always wash their clothes. I will let them eat the fruit from the tree that causes people to have true life. I will let them go through the gates into the city. 15 But other people must stay outside the city:
wicked people;
people who do magic;
people who have sex in a wrong way;
people who murder other people;
people who worship idols;
everyone who likes to tell lies and deceive people.
16 I am Jesus. I have sent my angel to tell you this message. You must tell it to all the people in the churches. I am called the Root of King David. I am his descendant. I am the bright morning star.’[a]
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