Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (A)searched me and known me!
2 You (B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (C)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (D)you know it altogether.
5 You (E)hem me in, behind and before,
and (F)lay your hand upon me.
6 (G)Such knowledge is (H)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (I)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (J)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(L)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (M)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (N)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (O)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
21 “And (A)I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see (B)my judgment that I have executed, and (C)my hand that I have laid on them. 22 (D)The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 23 And (E)the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that (F)I hid my face from them and (G)gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them (H)according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.
The Lord Will Restore Israel
25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now (I)I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on (J)the whole house of Israel, and (K)I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall (L)forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when (M)they dwell securely in their land with (N)none to make them afraid, 27 (O)when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, (P)and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 (Q)Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 (R)And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when (S)I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
The Certainty of God's Promise
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, (A)he swore by himself, 14 saying, (B)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[a] (C)having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes (D)an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to (E)the heirs of the promise (F)the unchangeable character of his purpose, (G)he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which (H)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope (I)set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into (J)the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone (K)as a forerunner on our behalf, (L)having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.