Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem.
44 We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us
The work You did in their days,
In the days of old.
2
You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand;
Then you planted and established them (Israel);
[It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.
3
For our fathers did not possess the land [of Canaan] by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
Because You favored and delighted in them.
4
You are my King, O God;
Command victories and deliverance for Jacob (Israel).
5
Through You we will gore our enemies [like a bull];
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
6
For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7
But You have saved us from our enemies,
And You have put them to shame and humiliated those who hate us.
8
In God we have boasted all the day long,
And we will praise and give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9
But now You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And You do not go out with our armies [to lead us to victory].
10
You make us turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11
You have made us like sheep to be eaten [as mutton]
And have scattered us [in exile] among the nations.
12
You sell Your people cheaply,
And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.
13
You have made us the reproach and taunt of our neighbors,
A scoffing and a derision to those around us.
14
You make us a byword among the nations,
A [a]laughingstock among the people.
15
My dishonor is before me all day long,
And humiliation has covered my face,
16
Because of the voice of the taunter and reviler,
Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17
All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we been false to Your covenant [which You made with our fathers].
18
Our heart has not turned back,
Nor have our steps wandered from Your path,
19
Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackals
And covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.
20
If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or stretched out our hands to a strange god,
21
Would not God discover this?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22
[b]But for Your sake we are killed all the day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.(A)
23
Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awaken, do not reject us forever.
24
Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25
For our life has melted away into the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
26
Rise up! Come be our help,
And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.
The Response to God’s Rebuke
6 “Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord,
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
2
“After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up
That we may live before Him.(A)
3
“So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] Lord [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him].
His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn,
And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.”
The Reply of the Lord
4
O Ephraim, what shall I do with you?
O Judah, what shall I do with you?
For your [wavering] loyalty and kindness are [transient] like the morning cloud
And like the dew that goes away early.
5
Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all].
6
For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice,
And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.(B)
7
But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant;
There they have dealt treacherously against Me.
8
Gilead is a city of wrongdoers;
It is tracked with bloody footprints.
9
And as bands of robbers [lie in] wait for a man,
So a band of priests murder on the road toward [a]Shechem [covering their crimes in that city of refuge];
Certainly they have committed crimes and outrages.
10
I have seen a horrible thing [sins of every kind] in the house of Israel!
Ephraim’s prostitution (idolatry) is there; Israel has defiled itself.
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness [who did not seek salvation and a right relationship with God, nevertheless] obtained righteousness, that is, the righteousness which is produced by faith; 31 whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.(A) 32 And why not? Because it was not by faith [that they pursued it], but as though it were by works [relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith]. They stumbled over the stumbling Stone [Jesus Christ].(B) 33 As it is written and forever remains written,
“Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense;
And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].”(C)
The Word of Faith Brings Salvation
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a certain enthusiasm for God, but not in accordance with [correct and vital] knowledge [about Him and His purposes]. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness [which is based on faith], and seeking to establish their own [righteousness based on works], they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law [it leads to Him and its purpose is fulfilled in Him], for [granting] righteousness to everyone who believes [in Him as Savior].
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