Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 40

I Desire to Do Your Will
(Psalm 40:13-17 parallels Psalm 70)

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For the choir director. By David. A psalm.

Messiah’s Prayer of Thanks

Messiah’s Willing Sacrifice

²⁵ When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days besides during the time of her monthly period, or when she has a discharge that lasts longer than her monthly period, she will be unclean for as many days as her discharge continues, just as she is during her monthly period. ²⁶ During her discharge any bed on which she lies is to be treated just like the bed during her monthly period, and every piece of furniture on which she sits will be unclean, as it would be during the impurity of her monthly period. ²⁷ Anyone who touches them will become unclean. Any such people must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until sunset.

²⁸ When she is cleansed from her discharge, she shall count off seven days, and after that she will be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons for herself and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ³⁰ The priest shall offer one dove as a sin offering and the other as a whole burnt offering. This is how the priest is to make atonement for her in the presence of the Lord, from the impurity of her discharge.

³¹ In this way you shall separate the people of Israel from their impurity, so that they do not die in their impurity because they defiled my dwelling place that is in their midst.

Eating Holy Food

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the holy things of the people of Israel, which they consecrate to me, so that they may not defile my holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Tell them these things.”

In future generations, if any man among all your descendants, while he is in a state of uncleanness, approaches the holy things, which the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person is to be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.

⁴ Any man of Aaron’s descendants who has an impure skin disease or a bodily discharge shall not eat any of the holy things until he is clean.

Any man who touches anything made unclean by a dead person, or any man from whom an emission of semen goes out, ⁵ or any man who touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean, or who touches any human being who makes him unclean, whatever his uncleanness might be— ⁶ that person who touches any of these things will be unclean until sunset and shall not eat any of the holy things unless he has washed his body with water. ⁷ When the sun has gone down, he will be clean. After that he may eat from the holy things, for it is his food. ⁸ But he shall not eat anything that has died naturally or been torn by wild animals, and so become unclean by it. I am the Lord.

⁹ Aaron’s descendants shall therefore keep watch for me, so that they do not become responsible for sin on account of uncleanness and die for it because they have defiled something holy. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.

Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ And what agreement does Christ have with Belial?^[a] Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what mutual agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For you^[b] are the temple of the living God, just as God said:

7 So then, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles flesh and spirit as we seek to bring sanctification to its goal in the fear of God.

You Encouraged Us

² Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have taken advantage of no one.