Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the director of music. A psalm of Asaph to the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.”
80 Shepherd of Israel, hear us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the cherubim.
Show your glory
2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Call your strength into action.
Come and save us.
3 God, make us new again.
May you be pleased with us.
Then we will be saved.
4 Lord God, you rule over all.
How long will you be angry?
Will you be angry with your people even when they pray to you?
5 You have given us tears as our food.
You have made us drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have let our neighbors mock us.
Our enemies laugh at us.
7 God who rules over all, make us new again.
May you be pleased with us.
Then we will be saved.
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing praise to him from one end of the earth to the other.
Sing, you who sail out on the ocean.
Sing, all you creatures in it.
Sing, you islands.
Sing, all you who live there.
11 Let the desert and its towns raise their voices.
Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar be glad.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord.
Let them praise him in the islands.
13 The Lord will march out like a mighty warrior.
He will stir up his anger like a soldier getting ready to fight.
He will shout the battle cry.
And he will win the battle over his enemies.
14 The Lord says, “For a long time I have kept silent.
I have been calm and quiet.
But now, like a woman having a baby,
I cry out. I gasp and pant.
15 I will completely destroy the mountains and hills.
I will dry up everything that grows there.
I will turn rivers into dry land.
I will dry up the pools.
16 Israel is blind.
So I will lead them along paths
they had not known before.
I will guide them on roads they are not familiar with.
I will turn the darkness into light as they travel.
I will make the rough places smooth.
Those are the things I will do.
I will not desert my people.
17 Some people trust in statues of gods.
They say to them, ‘You are our gods.’
But they will be dishonored.
They will be put to shame.
Israel Can’t See or Hear
18 “Israel, listen to me! You can hear,
but you do not understand.
Look to me! You can see,
but you do not know what you are seeing.
32 Remember those earlier days after you received the light. You remained strong in a great battle that was full of suffering. 33 Sometimes people spoke badly about you in front of others. Sometimes you were treated badly. At other times you stood side by side with people being treated like this. 34 You suffered along with people in prison. When your property was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew that God had given you better and more lasting things. 35 So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards.
36 You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised.
37 “In just a little while,
he who is coming will come.
He will not wait any longer.”
38 And,
“The one who is right with God will live by faith.
And I am not pleased with
the one who pulls back.” (Habakkuk 2:3,4)
39 But we don’t belong to the people who pull back and are destroyed. We belong to the people who believe and are saved.
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