Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
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.
7 Where can I go ⌞to get away⌟ from your Spirit?
Where can I run ⌞to get away⌟ from you?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in hell, you are there.
9 If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun
⌞or⌟ land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets,
10 even there your hand would guide me
and your right hand would hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Let the darkness hide me
and let the light around me turn into night,”
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you.
Night is as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same ⌞to you⌟.
23 Examine me, O God, and know my mind.
Test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See whether I am on an evil path.
Then lead me on the everlasting path.
44 But now listen, my servant Jacob, Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 The Lord made you, formed you in the womb, and will help you.
This is what the Lord says:
Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.
3 I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land.
I will pour my Spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up with the grass
as poplars spring up by streams.
5 One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
Another will call on the name of Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “The Lord’s,”
and he will adopt the name of Israel.
Everything Is under Jesus’ Control
2 For this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard. Then we won’t drift away ⌞from the truth⌟. 2 After all, the message that the angels brought was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience was properly punished. 3 So how will we escape punishment if we reject the important message, the message that God saved us? First, the Lord told this saving message. Then those who heard him confirmed that message. 4 God verified what they said through miraculous signs, amazing things, other powerful acts, and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit as he wanted.
5 He didn’t put the world that will come (about which we are talking) under the angels’ control. 6 Instead, someone has declared this somewhere in Scripture:
“What is a mortal that you should remember him,
or the Son of Man [a] that you take care of him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under his control.”
When God put everything under his Son’s control, nothing was left out.
However, at the present time we still don’t see everything under his Son’s control. 9 Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, but we see him crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Through God’s kindness [b] he died on behalf of everyone.
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