Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 26
Vindicate Me, O Lord
Heading
By David.
Affirmation of Innocence and Plea for Judgment
1 Judge me favorably, O Lord,
because I have walked in my integrity.
In the Lord I have trusted. I have not wavered.
2 Test me, O Lord, and examine me.
Refine my thoughts and my emotions,
3 for your mercy is in front of my eyes,
and I keep walking in your truth.
Separation From Evil
4 I do not sit with deceivers.
I do not associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of evildoers.
I do not sit with the wicked.
Affirmation of Innocence and Love for God
6 I wash my hands from sin,
so I can march around your altar, O Lord,
7 to shout thanks to you
and to proclaim all your wonderful deeds.
8 Lord, I love the house where you reside,
the place where your glory dwells.
Separation From Evil
9 Do not snatch my soul away along with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 who grasp wicked schemes in their hands,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
Affirmation of Innocence and Prayer for Redemption
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Round One: Eliphaz’s Speech
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 If someone ventures to have a word with you, will you grow impatient?
But who can refrain from speaking up?
3 You yourself have instructed many,
and you have strengthened weak hands.
4 Your words have raised up people who were stumbling,
and you have given support to buckling knees.
5 But now that this has happened to you, you grow impatient.
This strikes you and you are disturbed.
6 Shouldn’t your piety give you confidence?
Don’t your blameless ways give you reason to hope?
7 Now remember this:
Who has ever perished if he was innocent?
Where were the upright ever erased?
8 This is what I have observed:
Those who plow evil and sow trouble will reap the same.
9 By the breath of God they perish.
By the blast from his nostrils they come to an end.
10 The lion roars, and the fierce lion growls,
but the teeth of the young lion are broken.[a]
11 The strong lion perishes from a lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 A word was delivered to me secretly.
My ears caught a whisper of it.
13 In the middle of anxious thoughts arising from visions in the night,
at the time when deep sleep falls upon people,
14 terror and trembling came over me
and made all my bones tremble.
15 A spirit[b] passed in front of my face.
The hair on my body stood on end.
16 A figure stood in front of me,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a quiet voice say,
17 “Can a person be righteous before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?”[c]
18 If God does not trust his own servants,
if he charges his messengers with error,
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more quickly than a moth!
20 From dawn to dusk they are smashed to pieces.
They perish forever, and no one even notices.
21 Won’t the ropes that hold up their tents be pulled up,[d]
so that they die without gaining wisdom?
God Placed Our Judgment on Christ
8 So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me[b] free from the law of sin and death. 3 Indeed, what the law was unable to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did, when he sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin.[c] God condemned sin in his flesh, 4 so that the righteous decree of the law would be fully satisfied in us who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.[d]
Living in Harmony With the Spiritual Nature
5 To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does. 6 Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace. 7 For the mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you. And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit, who is dwelling in you.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.