Psalm 98

A psalm.

Psalm 149

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,^(A) the Lord appeared to him^(B) and said, “I am God Almighty^[a];^(C) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.^{(D) 2} Then I will make my covenant between me and you^(E) and will greatly increase your numbers.”^(F)

³ Abram fell facedown,^(G) and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you:^(H) You will be the father of many nations.^{(I) 5} No longer will you be called Abram^[b]; your name will be Abraham,^[c](J) for I have made you a father of many nations.^{(K) 6} I will make you very fruitful;^(L) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.^{(M) 7} I will establish my covenant^(N) as an everlasting covenant^(O) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God^(P) and the God of your descendants after you.^{(Q) 8} The whole land of Canaan,^(R) where you now reside as a foreigner,^(S) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;^(T) and I will be their God.^(U)”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,^(V) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.^{(W) 10} This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.^{(X) 11} You are to undergo circumcision,^(Y) and it will be the sign of the covenant^(Z) between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come^(AA) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,^(AB) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.

¹⁵ God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai^(A) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.^{(B) 16} I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.^(C) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;^(D) kings of peoples will come from her.”

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,^(A) continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted^(B) and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,^(C) and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,^(D) which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of this world^(E) rather than on Christ.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness^(F) of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head^(G) over every power and authority.^{(H) 11} In him you were also circumcised^(I) with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^[b](J) was put off when you were circumcised by^[c] Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism,^(K) in which you were also raised with him^(L) through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.^(M)

²³ In that day^(A) you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.^{(B) 24} Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive,^(C) and your joy will be complete.^(D)

²⁵ “Though I have been speaking figuratively,^(E) a time is coming^(F) when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name.^(G) I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me^(H) and have believed that I came from God.^{(I) 28} I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”^(J)

²⁹ Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.^{(K) 30} Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe^(L) that you came from God.”^(M)