Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 139
God’s Attributes—Too Wonderful for Me!
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For the choir director. By David. A psalm.
God Is All-Knowing
1 Lord, you have investigated me,
and you know.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You understand my thoughts from far off.
3 You keep track of when I travel and when I stay,[a]
and you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before there is a word on my tongue,
you, Lord, already know it completely.
5 You put a fence behind me and in front of me,
and you have placed your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is too high—I cannot grasp it.
God Is Present Everywhere
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your Presence?[b]
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in hell—there you are!
9 I rise on the wings of dawn.
I settle on the far side of the sea.
10 Even there your hand guides me,
and your right hand holds on to me.
11 And if I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light will become night around me,”
12 then even the darkness will not be too dark for you.
The night will be as light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
23 Investigate me, God, and know my heart.
Test me and know my troubled thoughts.
24 See if there is any way in me that causes pain,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
The Lord Comforts His People
44
But now listen, O Jacob my servant,
O Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord, your Maker, says,
the Lord who formed you from the womb, who will help you.
Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen,
3 because I will pour out water upon a thirsty land,
and streams of water upon dry ground.
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like a tree in a grassy meadow,[b]
like willows beside flowing streams.
5 One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
Another will be called by the name of Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the Lord,”
and he will take the name of Israel.
Pay Attention to God’s Word
2 Therefore, we need to pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message that was spoken through angels[a] was valid, and every transgression and disobedient act received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? First the message was spoken by the Lord; then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it with signs and wonders, various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his will.
God Put Everything Under His Control
5 For God did not place the coming world, about which we are speaking, under the control of angels. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
What is man that you remember him,
or the Son of Man[b] that you look after him?
7 You made him lower than the angels for a little while.[c]
You crowned him with glory and honor.[d]
8 You put everything in subjection under his feet.[e]
Indeed, in putting everything in subjection to him, God left nothing that is not in subjection to him. At the present time, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we look to Jesus (the one who was made lower than the angels for a little while, so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone), now crowned with glory and honor, because he suffered death.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.