Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 32
The Joy of Forgiveness
Davidic. A Maskil.
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!(A)
2 How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin(B)
and in whose spirit is no deceit!(C)
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.(D)
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;(E)
my strength was drained[a]
as in the summer’s heat.(F)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin.(G)
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.[b](H)
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.(I)
7 You are my hiding place;(J)
You protect me from trouble.(K)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses.(A) 15 The Lord told Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony[a](B) to come up from the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet[b] stepped out on solid ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course, flowing over all the banks as before.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,[c] and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. 20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(C) 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over,(D) just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the people of the earth may know(E) that the Lord’s hand is mighty,(F) and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”(G)
6 So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith,(A) not by sight,(B) 8 and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.(C) 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing(D) to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the tribunal(E) of Christ,(F) so that each may be repaid(G) for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,(H) we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance[a] rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind,(I) it is for God; if we have a sound mind,(J) it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels[b] us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all,(K) then all died. 15 And He died for all(L) so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,(M) but for the One(N) who died for them and was raised.
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