Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book II—Psalms 42–72[a]
Psalm 42[b]
Prayer of Longing for God
1 For the director.[c] A maskil of the sons of Korah.
2 As a deer longs for running streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.[d]
3 My soul[e] thirsts for God, the living God.
When shall I come to behold the face of God?
4 My tears have become my food
day and night,
while people taunt me all day long, saying,
“Where is your God?”
5 As I pour out my soul,
I recall those times
when I journeyed with the multitude
and led them in procession to the house of God,
amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving
on the part of the crowd keeping festival.
6 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God,
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[f]
7 My soul is disheartened within me;
therefore, I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.[g]
8 The depths of the sea resound
in the roar of your waterfalls;[h]
all your waves and your breakers
sweep over me.
9 During the day the Lord grants his kindness,
and at night his praise is with me,
a prayer to the living God.[i]
10 I say to God, my Rock,[j]
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in mourning
while my enemy oppresses me?”
11 It crushes my bones
when my foes taunt me,
jeering at me all day long,
“Where is your God?”[k]
12 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[l]
Psalm 43[a]
Prayer To Worship God Anew
1 Grant me your justice, O God,
and plead my cause against a godless nation;
rescue me from those who are deceitful and unjust.
2 You, O God, are my refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in mourning,
while my enemy oppresses me?
3 Send forth your light and your truth;[b]
they will serve as my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place of your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and delight,
and I will praise you[c] with the harp,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[d]
3 The upright are guarded by their integrity;
the treacherous are destroyed by their own duplicity.
4 Riches will be of no avail on the day of wrath,[a]
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The virtue of the honest man keeps his way straight,
whereas the evil man falls as a result of his wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright saves them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their own schemes.
7 When a wicked man dies, all his expectations die with him,
and the hope he placed in his riches comes to nought.
8 The righteous man escapes affliction,
and the wicked man incurs it instead.
9 With his mouth the godless man seeks to ruin his neighbor,
but knowledge enables the righteous to be delivered.
10 The city rejoices when the upright prosper,
and when the wicked are ruined, there is exultation.
11 Through the blessing of the righteous a city is raised,
but it is destroyed by the mouth of the wicked.
12 A man who lacks sense belittles a neighbor,
but an intelligent man remains silent.
13 One who gossips reveals secrets,
but a trustworthy man keeps things hidden.
27 Jesus Heals Two Blind Men. As Jesus proceeded from there, two blind men followed him, crying out loudly, “Son of David,[a] have pity on us.” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men approached him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They replied, “Yes, Lord, we do.” 29 Then Jesus touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their sight was restored. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See to it that no one learns about this.” 31 But as soon as they had departed, they spread the news about him throughout that entire district.
32 Jesus Heals a Mute Demoniac. As they left, a man who was possessed and unable to speak was brought to him. 33 When the demon had been driven out, the man who had been mute was able to speak. The crowds were amazed, and they said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees responded, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”[b]
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