Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)
To the Director: An instruction[a] of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come
42 As an antelope pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When may I come and appear in God’s presence?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while people[b] keep asking me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles[c] within me:
I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God,
accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me.
6 My God, my soul feels depressed[d] within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon,
even from the foothills.[e]
7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still;[f]
at the roar of your waterfalls
all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
8 By day the Lord will command his gracious love,
and by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
God is my Hope during Times of Trouble
43 [a]You be my judge,[b] God,
and plead my case against an unholy nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 Since you are the God who strengthens me,
why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
3 Send forth your light and your truth
so they may guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places.[c]
4 Then I will approach the altar of God,
even to God in whom my joy finds its source.[d]
Then I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God,
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
because I will praise him once again,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
3 The integrity of the righteous guides them,
but the hypocrisy of the treacherous destroys them.
4 Wealth won’t help in the time of judgment,[a]
but righteousness will deliver from death.
5 The righteousness of the innocent creates a level path,
but the wicked fall by their wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their evil desires.
7 When a wicked person dies, his hope vanishes;[b]
and what he[c] expected from his scheming comes to nothing.
8 The righteous person is delivered from trouble;
it comes upon the wicked instead.
9 By what he says, the godless person can destroy his neighbor,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.
10 The city rejoices when the righteous prosper,
and when the wicked perish there is jubilation.
11 Through the blessing of the righteous a city is built up,
but what the wicked say tears it down.
12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
but the discerning man controls his comments.
13 Whoever spreads gossip betrays secrets,
but the trustworthy person[d] keeps a confidence.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus was traveling on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him.
Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can do this?”
They told him, “Yes, Lord!”[a]
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done for you!” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, “See to it that nobody knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region.
Jesus Heals a Man who Couldn’t Talk
32 As the men[b] were going out, a man who couldn’t talk because he was demon-possessed was brought to him. 33 As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man[c] began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees kept saying, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”[d]
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