Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Wishing to Be Near God
For the director of music. A maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As a deer thirsts for streams of water,
so I thirst for you, God.
2 I thirst for the living God.
When can I go to meet with him?
3 Day and night, my tears have been my food.
People are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I speak with a broken heart.
I used to walk with the crowd
and lead them to God’s Temple
with songs of praise.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
I am very sad.
So I remember you where the Jordan River begins,
near the peaks of Hermon and Mount Mizar.
7 Troubles have come again and again, sounding like waterfalls.
Your waves are crashing all around me.
8 The Lord shows his true love every day.
At night I have a song,
and I pray to my living God.
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?”
10 My enemies’ insults make me feel
as if my bones were broken.
They are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
A Prayer for Protection
43 God, defend me.
Argue my case against those who don’t follow you.
Save me from liars and those who do evil.
2 God, you are my strength.
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and truth
to guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to where you live.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a harp,
God, my God.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
14 “They say, ‘A person’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble,
even if he stops fearing the Almighty.’
15 But my brothers cannot be counted on.
They are like streams that do not always flow,
streams that sometimes run over.
16 They are made dark by melting ice
and rise with melting snow.
17 But they stop flowing in the dry season;
they disappear when it is hot.
18 Travelers turn away from their paths
and go into the desert and die.
19 The groups of travelers from Tema look for water,
and the traders of Sheba look hopefully.
20 They are upset because they had been sure;
when they arrive, they are disappointed.
21 You also have been no help.
You see something terrible, and you are afraid.
22 I have never said, ‘Give me a gift.
Use your wealth to pay my debt.
23 Save me from the enemy’s power.
Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.’
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet.
Show me where I have been wrong.
25 Honest words are painful,
but your arguments prove nothing.
26 Do you mean to correct what I say?
Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?
27 You would even gamble for orphans
and would trade away your friend.
28 “But now please look at me.
I would not lie to your face.
29 Change your mind; do not be unfair;
think again, because my innocence is being questioned.
30 What I am saying is not wicked;
I can tell the difference between right and wrong.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let us think in human terms: Even an agreement made between two persons is firm. After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop it or add anything to it. 16 God made promises both to Abraham and to his descendant. God did not say, “and to your descendants.” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your descendant.” That means only one person; that person is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot change that agreement and so destroy God’s promise to Abraham. 18 If the law could give us Abraham’s blessing, then the promise would not be necessary. But that is not possible, because God freely gave his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.
19 So what was the law for? It was given to show that the wrong things people do are against God’s will. And it continued until the special descendant, who had been promised, came. The law was given through angels who used Moses for a mediator[a] to give the law to people. 20 But a mediator is not needed when there is only one side, and God is only one.
The Purpose of the Law of Moses
21 Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? Never! That would be true only if the law could make us right with God. But God did not give a law that can bring life. 22 Instead, the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin. This was so the promise would be given through faith to people who believe in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.