Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
80 1-2 Listen, Shepherd, Israel’s Shepherd—
get all your Joseph sheep together.
Throw beams of light
from your dazzling throne
So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
can see where they’re going.
Get out of bed—you’ve slept long enough!
Come on the run before it’s too late.
3 God, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.
4-6 God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
while your people call for fire and brimstone?
You put us on a diet of tears,
bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.
You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
our enemies poke fun day after day.
7 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.
10-16 Sing to God a brand-new song,
sing his praises all over the world!
Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
with all the far-flung islands joining in.
Let the desert and its camps raise a tune,
calling the Kedar nomads to join in.
Let the villagers in Sela round up a choir
and perform from the tops of the mountains.
Make God’s glory resound;
echo his praises from coast to coast.
God steps out like he means business.
You can see he’s primed for action.
He shouts, announcing his arrival;
he takes charge and his enemies fall into line:
“I’ve been quiet long enough.
I’ve held back, biting my tongue.
But now I’m letting loose, letting go,
like a woman who’s having a baby—
Stripping the hills bare,
withering the wildflowers,
Drying up the rivers,
turning lakes into mudflats.
But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way,
who can’t see where they’re going.
I’ll be a personal guide to them,
directing them through unknown country.
I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take,
make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.
These are the things I’ll be doing for them—
sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.”
17 But those who invested in the no-gods
are bankrupt—dead broke.
You’ve Seen a Lot, but Looked at Nothing
18-25 Pay attention! Are you deaf?
Open your eyes! Are you blind?
You’re my servant, and you’re not looking!
You’re my messenger, and you’re not listening!
The very people I depended upon, servants of God,
blind as a bat—willfully blind!
You’ve seen a lot, but looked at nothing.
You’ve heard everything, but listened to nothing.
God intended, out of the goodness of his heart,
to be lavish in his revelation.
But this is a people battered and cowed,
shut up in attics and closets,
Victims licking their wounds,
feeling ignored, abandoned.
But is anyone out there listening?
Is anyone paying attention to what’s coming?
Who do you think turned Jacob over to the thugs,
let loose the robbers on Israel?
Wasn’t it God himself, this God against whom we’ve sinned—
not doing what he commanded,
not listening to what he said?
Isn’t it God’s anger that’s behind all this,
God’s punishing power?
Their whole world collapsed but they still didn’t get it;
their life is in ruins but they don’t take it to heart.
32-39 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.
It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;
he’ll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.
But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson