Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
[a]Aleph.
119 How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless],
Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord.
2
Blessed and favored by God are those who keep His testimonies,
And who [consistently] seek Him and long for Him with all their heart.
3
They do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.(A)
4
You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should follow them with [careful] diligence.
5
Oh, that my ways may be established
To observe and keep Your statutes [obediently accepting and honoring them]!
6
Then I will not be ashamed
When I look [with respect] to all Your commandments [as my guide].
7
I will give thanks to You with an upright heart,
When I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions].
8
I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly abandon me [when I fail].
34 ‘Then the land [of Israel] will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest, the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.(A) 36 As for those who are left of you, I will bring despair (lack of courage, weakness) into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a scattered leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as if [running] from the sword, and will fall even when no one is chasing them. 37 They shall stumble over one another as if to escape from a sword when no one is chasing them; and you will have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you. 39 Those of you who are left will rot away because of their wickedness in the lands of your enemies; also because of the wickedness of their forefathers they will rot away like them.
40 ‘If they confess their wickedness and the wickedness of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they have committed against Me—and also in their acting with hostility toward Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—then if their uncircumcised (sin-filled) hearts are humbled and they accept the punishment for their wickedness,(B) 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham, and remember the land.(C) 43 But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.(D) 45 But I will, for their sake, [earnestly] remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”
46 These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai.
7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us].(A) 8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light [in consistent fellowship with Christ] and yet [a]habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who [b]loves and unselfishly seeks the best for his [believing] brother lives in the Light, and in him there is no occasion for stumbling or offense [he does not hurt the cause of Christ or lead others to sin]. 11 But the one who habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in [spiritual] darkness and is walking in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]. 13 I am writing to you, fathers [those believers who are spiritually mature], because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men [those believers who are growing in spiritual maturity], because you have been victorious and have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children [those who are new believers, those spiritually immature], because you have come to know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the word of God remains [always] in you, and you have been victorious over the evil one [by accepting Jesus as Savior].
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
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