Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book V
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
He Redeemed Them From Trouble
Invocation to Give Thanks
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.[a]
Fourth Crisis: On the Sea
23 They went down to the sea in ships.
They conducted trade on many waters.
24 They saw the deeds of the Lord
and his wonders on the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a violent storm,
which produced large waves.
26 They were raised up to the sky.
They sank down into the depths.
In their danger their courage melted.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunk.
All their skill disappeared.
Refrain
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He brought them out of their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm. Its waves were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew quiet,
and he guided them to the port they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the session of the elders.
21 People listened to me eagerly.
They kept silent, waiting for my advice.
22 After I spoke, they did not keep speaking.[a]
My words fell on them gently.
23 They waited for me the way people wait for rain.
They opened their mouths the way people wait for spring showers.
24 When I laughed with them, they did not believe it.
In the light from my face, they were never downcast.
25 I chose the way for them,
and I was seated as their head,
like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
The Shame of the Present
30 But those far younger than I am now laugh at me—
men whose fathers I would not have allowed
to serve with my sheepdogs.
2 The strength of their hands was useless to me.[b]
Their vigor had failed.
3 Emaciated from famine and hunger,
they gnawed desert plants in the desolate wasteland.
4 They picked marsh plants among the brush,
and their food was the roots of broom bushes.
5 They were driven out of the community.
People shouted at them like thieves.
6 They lived in dry streambeds,
in holes among the dust and the rocks.
7 They brayed between shrubs,
and they huddled under thorn bushes.
8 Sons of fools and nameless nobodies,
they were driven out of the land with whips.
9 But now I am the target of their mocking songs,
and my name has become proverbial as a term of scorn.
10 They despise me and keep their distance.
They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 God has unhooked my bowstring,[c]
and he has afflicted me,
so they throw off all restraint in my presence.
12 At my right hand this rabble rises up like a mob.
They trip my feet.
They besiege me with their plans to destroy me.
13 They cut off my path to escape.
They try to benefit from my destruction.
They need no one to help them.
14 They pour through the breach in my wall.
They roll in through the ruins.
15 Terrors are unleashed against me.
My prestige is blown away by the wind.
My security has passed by like a cloud.
To Tyre
21 After we[a] tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we headed straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 When we found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing by on its south side, we sailed to Syria and put in to port at Tyre, because there the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 We located the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When our time there came to an end, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. We knelt down on the beach and prayed. 6 After saying good-bye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
To Caesarea
7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers[b] and stayed with them for one day. 8 The next day, we left and came to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 After we had stayed there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he came to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘This is the way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
12 When we heard this, both we and the local residents urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Since he could not be persuaded, we said nothing more except, “May the Lord’s will be done.”
In Jerusalem
15 After those days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, with whom we were to stay. He was from Cyprus and was one of the first disciples.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.