Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 40
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 I waited a long time for the Eternal;
He finally knelt down to hear me.
He listened to my weak and whispered cry.
2 He reached down and drew me
from the deep, dark hole where I was stranded, mired in the muck and clay.
With a gentle hand, He pulled me out
To set me down safely on a warm rock;
He held me until I was steady enough to continue the journey again.
3 As if that were not enough,
because of Him my mind is clearing up.
Now I have a new song to sing—
a song of praise to the One who saved me.
Because of what He’s done, many people will see
and come to trust in the Eternal.
4 Surely those who trust the Eternal—
who don’t trust in proud, powerful people
Or in people who care little for reality, chasing false gods—
surely they are happy, as I have become.
5 You have done so many wonderful things,
had so many tender thoughts toward us, Eternal my God,
that go on and on, ever increasing.
Who can compare with You?
6 Sacrifices and offerings are not what You want,
but You’ve opened my ears,[a] and now I understand.
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
are not what please You.
7 So I said, “See, I have come to do Your will,
as it is inscribed of me in the scroll.
8 I am pleased to live how You want, my God.
Your law is etched into my heart and my soul.”
11 Even though Ephraim built many altars to cover sin,
they’ve all become places where he commits sin!
12 It wouldn’t matter how many copies of My law I wrote for him;
he’d treat them all as something strange and foreign.
13 No matter how many sacrifices they offer,
no matter how many sacred meals they eat,
I am not pleased with them.
I’ll remember their guilt and punish their sins:
they’ll return to slavery in Egypt!
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has built many walled cities.
But I’ll send fire on those cities,
and My righteous wrath will burn up those citadels.
10 Israel, once a vibrant vine that bore adequate fruit, is now barren.
The more fruit he bore, the more altars he made;
the more his fertile soil produced, the more he made the sacred pillars.
2 But they aren’t loyal to God in their hearts, and now they’ll pay the penalty:
the Eternal will break apart their altars and smash their sacred pillars.
13 Let love continue among you. 2 Don’t forget to extend your hospitality to all—even to strangers—for as you know, some have unknowingly shown kindness to heavenly messengers in this way. 3 Remember those imprisoned for their beliefs as if you were their cellmate; and care for any who suffer harsh treatment, as you are all one body.
4 Hold marriage in high esteem, all of you, and keep the marriage bed pure because God will judge those who commit sexual sins.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because He has said, “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side.”[a] 6 Because of this promise, we may boldly say,
The Lord is my help—
I won’t be afraid of anything.
How can anyone harm me?[b]
7 Listen to your leaders, who have spoken God’s word to you. Notice the fruits of their lives and mirror their faith.
8 Jesus the Anointed One is always the same: yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by diverse and strange ways of believing or worshiping. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about what you can eat (which do no good even for those who observe them). 10 We approach an altar from which those who stand before the altar in the tent have no right to eat. 11 In the past, the bodies of those animals whose blood was carried into the sanctuary by the high priest to take away sin were all burned outside the camp. 12 (In the same way, Jesus suffered and bled outside the city walls of Jerusalem to sanctify the people.)
If we are honest, we have to admit that coming to Jesus and entering into His church ruins us—at least as far as this world is concerned. If we identify with Him in His suffering and rejection, we become a reproachful irritation to the powers that rule this culture. If we ever felt at home in this world—if we ever sensed that we belonged—then we would wake up one day to discover that we will never be at home again until we enter the city of God. By entering through Jesus, we become citizens of another city, subjects of another king. As long as we are here, we should live as resident aliens longing to go home.
13 Let’s then go out to Him and resolve to bear the insult and abuse that He endured. 14 For as long as we are here, we do not live in any permanent city, but are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, then, let us keep offering to God our own sacrifice, the praise of lips that confess His name without ceasing. 16 Let’s not neglect what is good and share what we have, for these sacrifices also please God.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.