Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Lament in Time of National Defeat
A maskil of Asaph.[a]
74 Why, O God, have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smoke
against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation that you bought long ago,
when you redeemed the tribe of your inheritance.
Remember Mount Zion[b] where you have dwelt.
3 Lift your steps to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has ruined in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they have set up their signs for signs.
5 They are[c] known to be like those who wield[d]
axes in a thicket of trees.
6 And now[e] its[f] carved works altogether
they have smashed with axe and hammer.
7 They have set fire to your sanctuary.
They have defiled to the ground,
the dwelling place for your name.
8 They have said in their heart,
“We will completely[g] oppress them.”
They burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs,
and there is no longer a prophet.
No one with us knows how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary taunt?
Will the enemy treat your name with contempt forever?
11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
Take it from your bosom;[h] destroy them!
12 But God has been my king from long ago,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You split open the sea by your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food to the desert dwelling creatures.
15 You split open spring and wadi.[i]
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 Yours is the day, yours is the night also.
You established light and the sun.
17 You defined[j] all the boundaries of the earth;
Summer and winter—you formed them.
18 O Yahweh, remember this: the enemy taunts,
and foolish people treat your name with contempt.
19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;
do not ever forget the life of your afflicted ones.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
because the dark places of the land are full of
the haunts of violence.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn back humiliated;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember the reproaching of you by the foolish all day long.[k]
23 Do not forget the sound of your adversaries,
the roar of those rising up against you ascending continually.
Saul in Torment
14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. 15 So the servants of Saul said to him, “Look please, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Please, let our lord command your servants who are before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. When[a] the evil spirit from God is upon you, he can play on it[b] and you will feel better.”[c] 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Please select a man who plays a stringed instrument well[d] and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome.[e] And Yahweh is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a skin of wine and one young goat[f] and sent them to Saul by the hand of David his son. 21 So David came to Saul and entered his service.[g] He[h] loved him greatly and he became Saul’s armor bearer.[i] 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, because he has found favor in my sight.”[j] 23 So whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then it would bring relief[k] for Saul; he would feel better[l] and the evil spirit would depart from him.
Satan Bound for a Thousand Years
20 And I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it above him, in order that he could not deceive the nations again until the thousand years are completed. After these things it is necessary for him to be released for a short time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat down on them, and authority to judge was granted to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and did not receive the mark on their[a] forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over this person the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand[b] years.
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