Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
139 O Lord, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away.
3 You watch me when I travel and when I rest.
You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a ⌞single⌟ word on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me.
You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp.
It is so high I cannot reach it.
13 You alone created my inner being.
You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I will give thanks to you
because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.
Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was still an unborn child.
Every day ⌞of my life⌟ was recorded in your book
before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God!
How vast in number they are!
18 If I try to count them,
there would be more of them than there are grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
16 Then the Lord would send judges [a] to rescue them from those who robbed them. 17 But the people wouldn’t listen to the judges. The Israelites chased after other gods as though they were prostitutes and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors who had obeyed the Lord’s commands. They refused to be like their ancestors. 18 But when the Lord appointed judges for the Israelites, he was with each judge. The Lord rescued them from their enemies as long as that judge was alive. The Lord was moved by the groaning of those who were tormented and oppressed. 19 But after each judge died, the people went back to their old ways and acted more corruptly than their parents. They followed, served, and worshiped other gods. They never gave up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
The Lord Allows the Nations to Stay in Order to Test His People
20 The Lord became angry with Israel. He said, “Because the people of this nation have rejected the promise I gave their ancestors and have not obeyed me, 21 I will no longer force out the nations Joshua left behind when he died. 22 I will test the people of Israel with these nations to see whether or not they will carefully follow the Lord’s ways as their ancestors did.” 23 So the Lord let these nations stay. He had not handed them over to Joshua or forced them out quickly.
16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said, “Men of Israel and converts to Judaism, listen to me. 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors and made them a strong nation while they lived as foreigners in Egypt. He used his powerful arm to bring them out of Egypt, 18 and he put up with them for about forty years in the desert. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as an inheritance. 20 He did all this in about four hundred and fifty years.
“After that he gave his people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.
21 “Then the people demanded a king, so God gave them Saul, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. After forty years 22 God removed Saul and made David their king. God spoke favorably about David. He said, ‘I have found that David, son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’
23 “God had the Savior, Jesus, come to Israel from David’s descendants, as he had promised. 24 Before Jesus began his ministry, John ⌞the Baptizer⌟ told everyone in Israel about the baptism of repentance.[a] 25 When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the person you’re looking for. He will come later. I’m not even good enough to untie his sandals.’
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