Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 139
The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.(A)
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.(B)
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.(C)
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.(D)
5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.(E)
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.(F)
13 For it was you who created my inward parts;[a]
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.(A)
14 I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.[b][c]
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.(B)
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.(C)
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.(D)
Joshua’s Death
6 Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.(A) 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works(B) he had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,(C) north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord(D) or the works he had done for Israel.
11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.(E) They worshiped the Baals(F) 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples(G) and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord,(H) 13 for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.(I)
14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold(J) them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them(K) and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them.(L) So they suffered greatly.
Paul’s Apostolic Authority
10 Now I, Paul, myself, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. 2 I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are living according to the flesh.(A) 3 For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 since the weapons of our warfare(B) are not of the flesh, but are powerful(C) through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge(D) of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 6 And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7 Look at what is obvious.[a] If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ,(E) let him remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. 8 For if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up(F) and not for tearing you down, I will not be put to shame. 9 I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. 10 For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing.” 11 Let such a person consider this: What we are in our letters, when we are absent, we will also be in our actions when we are present.
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