Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
God understands me[a]
139 Lord, you look deep inside me,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down,
and you know when I get up.
Even when you are far away,
you understand what I am thinking about.
3 You see me when I go out,
and you see me when I stay at home.
You know everything that I do!
4 Yes Lord, before I open my mouth to speak,
you know what I will say.
5 You are all around me, in front of me and behind me.
You put your hand on me to help me.
6 You know so much about me, it is wonderful.
I cannot understand it.
My thoughts cannot reach as high as that!
7 Is there anywhere that I can go
to run away from your Spirit?
Anywhere that I go, you are already there!
8 If I go up to heaven,
you would be there.
If I dig deep down into the ground to reach Sheol,
you would be there too.
9 If I fly away to where the sun rises in the east,
or to the other side of the sea in the west,
you would be there.
10 You would use your hand to lead me.
Your strong right hand would keep me safe.
11 I might say, ‘I will hide myself in the dark,
and the light round me will change into night.’
12 But it is never too dark for you to see.
For you, the night has as much light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you!
23 Please God, look deep inside me.
See what is there in my thoughts.
24 Show me if I am following any evil way.
Lead me in the right way that has always been true.
44 ‘Israelites, Jacob's descendants, listen to me!
I have chosen you to be my servant.’
2 The Lord created you. Before you were born, he was already taking care of you. He will continue to help you. He says to you,
‘Do not be afraid, my servant, Jacob.
I call you “Jeshurun”,
and I have chosen you to belong to me.
3 I will pour water onto land that is thirsty.
I will pour streams of water on the dry ground.
I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
and I will bless them.
4 They will grow up like fresh grass in a field.
They will grow like willow trees beside a river.
5 Someone will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
Another person will call himself by the name “Jacob”.
Someone else will write on his hand, “I am the Lord's”,
and he will call himself “Israel”.’
Do not turn away from God's message
2 So we must be very careful. We must continue to remember the message that we have heard about God's Son. Then we will not go in the wrong direction, and turn away from God. 2 The message that God spoke by angels was certainly powerful.[a] God punished people when they did not obey the Law that he gave to Moses. In a completely right way he punished people who did anything wrong.
3 As for us, God has shown us the way that he will save us from our sins. So we must not forget God's message about his great way to save us. If we do, he will certainly punish us. The Lord Jesus himself first spoke that message about how God would save people. Then the people who heard Jesus told the message to us.[b] That is how we know that it is true. 4 God himself also showed clearly that what these people said is true. He did many miracles and powerful things which showed that he was with them. He also helped them with gifts from the Holy Spirit, in the way that he wanted.
Jesus became human like us, to save us
5 We are speaking about the new world that will come. God did not choose angels to rule over that world. 6 No! Instead, someone wrote this somewhere in the Bible:
‘Lord God, why do you even think about people?
You take care of men and women,
even though they seem to be so small.
7 For a short time, you made them less important than the angels
But then you made them great and powerful, like kings.
8 You caused them to rule over everything.’[c]
It says that God has caused people to rule over everything. That means that there is nothing that people do not have authority over. But at this time, we do not yet see that people rule over everything. 9 But we do see Jesus![d] God made him less important than the angels for a short time. And now God has made him the great and powerful king. God did this because Jesus died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people. His death showed that God is very kind.
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