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)
16 The Lord raised up(A) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted(B) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way(C) of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their ancestors did. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with(D) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly(E) than their ancestors, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate(F) ways.
20 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant(G) that I made with their ancestors(H) and disobeyed me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left(I) when he died.(J) 22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the Lord’s way(K) by walking in it, as their ancestors had.”(L) 23 The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.
16 Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said, “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!(A) 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty[a] arm.(B) 18 And for about forty years he put up with them[b] in the wilderness;(C) 19 and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan,(D) he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.(E) 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.(F) 22 After removing him,(G) he raised up David as their king and testified about him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart,[c](H) who will carry out all my will.’
23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel(I) the Savior, Jesus.[d] 24 Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.(J) 25 Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’(K)
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