Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have seen what is in my heart.
You know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know what I’m thinking even though you are far away.
3 You know when I go out to work and when I come back home.
You know exactly how I live.
4 Lord, even before I speak a word,
you know all about it.
5 You are all around me, behind me and in front of me.
You hold me safe in your hand.
6 I’m amazed at how well you know me.
It’s more than I can understand.
7 How can I get away from your Spirit?
Where can I go to escape from you?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I lie down in the deepest parts of the earth, you are also there.
9 Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east.
Suppose I travel to the west where it sinks into the ocean.
10 Your hand would always be there to guide me.
Your right hand would still be holding me close.
11 Suppose I were to say, “I’m sure the darkness will hide me.
The light around me will become as dark as night.”
12 Even that darkness would not be dark to you.
The night would shine like the day,
because darkness is like light to you.
23 God, see what is in my heart.
Know what is there.
Test me.
Know what I’m thinking.
24 See if there’s anything in my life you don’t like.
Help me live in the way that is always right.
21 “ ‘I will show all the nations my glory. They will see how I punish them when I use my power against them. 22 From that time on, the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 The nations will know that the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners because they sinned against me. They were not faithful to me. So I turned my face away from them. I handed them over to their enemies. All of them were killed by swords. 24 I punished them because they were “unclean.” They did many things that were wrong. So I turned my face away from them.’ ”
25 The Lord and King says, “I will now cause the people of Jacob to recover from my judgment. I will show my tender love for all the people of Israel. I will make sure that my name is kept holy. 26 My people will forget the shameful things they have done. They will not remember all the ways they were unfaithful to me. They used to live in safety in their land. At that time no one made them afraid. 27 So I will bring them back from the nations. I will gather them from the countries of their enemies. And I will use them to prove to many nations how holy I am. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God. I let the nations take my people away as prisoners. But now I will bring them back to their own land. I will not leave anyone behind. 29 I will no longer turn my face away from the people of Israel. I will pour out my Spirit on them,” announces the Lord and King.
God Keeps His Promise
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, God gave his word. There was no one greater than himself to promise by. So he promised by making an appeal to himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you. I will give you many children.” (Genesis 22:17) 15 Abraham was patient while he waited. Then he received what God promised him.
16 People promise things by someone greater than themselves. Giving your word makes a promise certain. It puts an end to all arguing. 17 So God gave his word when he made his promise. He wanted to make it very clear that his purpose does not change. He wanted those who would receive what was promised to know this. 18 When God made his promise, he gave his word. He did this so we would have good reason not to give up. Instead, we have run to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope is set before us in God’s promise. So God made his promise and gave his word. These two things can’t change. He couldn’t lie about them. 19 Our hope is certain. It is something for the soul to hold on to. It is strong and secure. It goes all the way into the Most Holy Room behind the curtain. 20 That is where Jesus has gone. He went there to open the way ahead of us. He has become a high priest forever, just like Melchizedek.
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