Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
God’s Knowledge and Presence
139 Lord, you have examined me;
you have known me.
2 You know when I rest[a]
and when I am active.[b]
You understand what I am thinking
when I am distant from you.[c]
3 You scrutinize my life and my rest;[d]
you are familiar with all of my ways.
4 Even before I have formed a word with my tongue,
you, Lord, know it completely!
5 You encircle me from back to front,
placing your hand upon me.
6 Knowledge like this is too amazing for me.
It is beyond my reach,
and I cannot fathom it.
13 It was you who formed my internal organs,[a]
fashioning me within my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you,
because you are fearful and wondrous![b]
Your work is wonderful,
and I am fully aware of it.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being crafted in a hidden place,
knit together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes looked upon my embryo,
and everything was recorded in your book.
The days scheduled[c] for my formation were inscribed,
even though not one of them had come yet.[d]
17 How deep[e] are your thoughts, God!
How great is their number!
18 Were I to count them,
they would number more than the sand.
When I awake, I will be with you.
The Prophet’s Call for Help and Justice
14 Heal me, Lord, and I’ll be healed;
deliver me, and I’ll be delivered,
because you are my praise.
15 Look, they’re saying to me,
“Where is the message from the Lord?
Let it come about!”
16 I haven’t run away from being your shepherd,[a]
and I haven’t longed for the day of sickness.[b]
You know what comes out from my lips,
it’s open before you.[c]
17 Don’t be a terror to me.
You are my refuge in a day of trouble.
18 Let those who pursue me be put to shame,
but don’t put me to shame.
Let them be terrified,
but don’t let me be terrified.
Bring the day of judgment[d] on them,
and destroy them with double destruction!
A Test Case: Keeping the Sabbath
19 The Lord told me, “Go, stand in the gate of the people,[e] where the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in the other gates of Jerusalem as well. 20 Say to them, ‘Kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem entering these gates, hear this message from the Lord. 21 This is what the Lord says: “Be careful! On the Sabbath day, don’t carry any load or bring anything through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Don’t bring any load out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor are you to do any work. You are to consecrate[f] the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors. 23 But they didn’t listen, nor did they pay attention.[g] They were determined[h] not to listen and not to accept instruction.[i] 24 If you listen to me carefully,” declares the Lord, “and don’t bring a load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and you consecrate the Sabbath day and don’t do any work on it, 25 then kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David will come through the gates of this city. They, their princes, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem will come riding in chariots and on horses, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They’ll come from the cities of Judah, from the places around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the Shephelah,[j] from the hill country, and from the Negev,[k] bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple. 27 But if you don’t listen to me, to consecrate the Sabbath day and not carry any load as you enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I’ll start a fire in its gates. It will consume the palaces of Jerusalem and won’t be extinguished.”’”
Not Peace, but Division(A)
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword![a] 35 I came to turn
‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 A person’s enemies will include members of his own family.’[b]
The Cost of Discipleship(B)
37 “The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. 38 The one who doesn’t take up his cross and follow me isn’t worthy of me. 39 The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.”
Rewards(C)
40 “The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet as[c] a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person as[d] a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 I tell all of you[e] with certainty, whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is[f] a disciple will never lose his reward.”
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