Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so ^(I)troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I consider ^(J)the days of old,
    the years long ago.
⁶ I said,^[a] “Let me remember my ^(K)song in the night;
    let me ^(L)meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷ “Will the Lord ^(M)spurn forever,
    and never again ^(N)be favorable?
⁸ Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his ^(O)promises at an end for all time?
^9 (P)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    ^(Q)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

¹⁰ Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the ^(R)right hand of the Most High.”^[b]

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will ^(S)remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will ponder all your ^(T)work,
    and meditate on your ^(U)mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is ^(V)holy.
    ^(W)What god is great like our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who ^(X)works wonders;
    you have ^(Y)made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ You ^(Z)with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶ When ^(AA)the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
    the skies ^(AB)gave forth thunder;
    your ^(AC)arrows flashed on every side.
^18 (AD)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    ^(AE)your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth ^(AF)trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your ^(AG)way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints ^(AH)were unseen.^[c]
20 You ^(AI)led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

² “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    Yet who can keep from speaking?
³ Behold, you have instructed many,
    and you have ^(A)strengthened the weak hands.
⁴ Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
    and you have ^(B)made firm the feeble knees.
⁵ But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
    it touches you, and you are dismayed.
^6 (C)Is not your fear of God^[a] your ^(D)confidence,
    and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ “Remember: ^(E)who that was innocent ever perished?
    Or where were the upright cut off?
⁸ As I have seen, those who ^(F)plow iniquity
    and sow trouble reap the same.
⁹ By ^(G)the breath of God they perish,
    and by ^(H)the blast of his anger they are consumed.
¹⁰ The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
    ^(I)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
¹¹ The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
    my ear received ^(J)the whisper of it.
¹³ Amid ^(K)thoughts from ^(L)visions of the night,
    when ^(M)deep sleep falls on men,
¹⁴ dread came upon me, and trembling,
    which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face;
    the hair of my flesh stood up.
¹⁶ It stood still,
    but I could not discern its appearance.
^(N)A form was before my eyes;
    there was silence, then I heard ^(O)a voice:
^17 (P)‘Can mortal man be in the right before^[b] God?
    Can a man be pure before his Maker?
¹⁸ Even in his servants ^(Q)he puts no trust,
    and his angels he charges with error;
¹⁹ how much more those who dwell in houses of ^(R)clay,
    whose foundation is in ^(S)the dust,
    who are crushed like^{[c] (T)}the moth.
²⁰ Between ^(U)morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
    they perish forever ^(V)without anyone regarding it.
²¹ Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
    ^(W)do they not die, and that without wisdom?’