Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 77
For the worship leader, Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.
1 I cry up to heaven,
“My God, True God,” and He hears.
2 In my darkest days, I seek the Lord.
Through the night, my hands are raised up, stretched out, waiting;
And though they do not grow tired,
my soul is uneasy.
3 I remember the True God and become distraught.
I think about Him, and my spirit becomes weak.
[pause][a]
4 You hold my eyes wide open.
I am troubled beyond words.
5 My mind drifts to thoughts of yesterdays
and yesteryears.
6 I call to mind my music; it keeps me company at night.
Together with my heart I contemplate;
my spirit searches, wondering, questioning:
7 “What will the Lord do? Reject us for good?
Will He never show us His favor again?
8 Has His loyal love finally worn down?
Have His promises reached an end?
9 Has the True God forgotten how to be gracious?
In His anger, has He withdrawn His compassion?”
[pause]
10 “I can’t help but be distraught,” I said,
“for the power of the Most High that was once for us is now against us.”
11 I will remember the actions the Eternal has taken,
reminisce on Your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all of Your work;
indeed, I will study all You have performed.
13 O God, Your way is so different, so distinct, so divine.
No other god compares with our God.
14 You, God, and Your works evoke wonder.
You have proved Your strength to the nations.
15 You used Your great power to release Your people:
with a strong arm, You freed Jacob’s children, and Joseph’s.
[pause]
16 The waters saw You, O True God.
The seas saw You and swelled in sorrow.
Even the deep trembled.
17 Water poured from the clouds,
and the sky boomed out in response
as Your arrows of lightning flashed this way and that.
18 The sound of Your thunder whirled within the wind
as Your lightning lit up the world.
Yes, the whole earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way ran through the sea,
Your path cut through great waters,
and still no one can spot Your footprints.
20 You led Your people as a flock
tended by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
30 These are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. An oracle of wisdom.
He says, “I am weary, God.
I am weary and spent, O God.”[a]
2 Certainly I am a stupid man, as dumb as an ox.
I don’t understand the way that most people do.
3 I have never learned wisdom,
and I have no knowledge at all of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into the heavens and then come back down?
Who has collected the winds in the palm of His hand?
Who has wrapped up the vast oceans in His coat?
Who has plotted the ends of the earth and then fashioned them?
What is His name?
What is His son’s name?
Do you know? Indeed, you do.
The answer to all these questions, of course, is “no one but God.” Agur, like Job, understands the limits of human strength and knowledge. Unlike many, he freely confesses his need and takes refuge in the one True God.
5 Every word of God will be put to the test and proven true;
He is a defense for those who trust in Him.
6 Take care. Add nothing to what He has said;
for if you do, He will correct you and expose you as a liar.
7 Two things I ask, O God.
Sometime before I die, grant these humble requests:
8 Eliminate any hint of worthless and deceitful words from my lips.
Do not make me poor or rich,
but give me each day what I need;
9 For if I have too much, I might forget You are the One who provides,
saying, “Who is the Eternal One?”
Or if I do not have enough, I might become hungry and turn to stealing
and thus dishonor the good name of my God.
4 The Spirit then led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. After this fast, He was, as you can imagine, hungry. 3 But He was also curiously stronger, when the tempter came to Jesus.
Devil: If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
Jesus (quoting Deuteronomy): 4 It is written, “Man does not live by bread alone. Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.”[a]
The point, of course, is not that Jesus couldn’t have turned these stones to bread. A little later in the story He can make food appear when He needs to. But Jesus doesn’t work miracles out of the blue, for no reason, for show or proof or spectacle. He works them in intimate, close places; He works them to meet people’s needs and to show them the way to the Kingdom.
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem, and he had Jesus stand at the very highest point in the holy temple.
Devil: 6 If You are the Son of God, jump! And then we will see if You fulfill the Scripture that says,
He will command His heavenly messengers concerning You,
and the messengers will buoy You in their hands
So that You will not crash, or fall, or even graze Your foot on a stone.[b]
Jesus: 7 That is not the only thing Scripture says. It also says, “Do not put the Eternal One, your God, to the test.”[c]
8 And still the devil subjected Jesus to a third test. He took Jesus to the top of a very high mountain, and he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in all their splendor and glory, their power and pomp.
Devil: 9 If You bow down and worship me, I will give You all these kingdoms.
Jesus: 10 Get away from Me, Satan. I will not serve you. I will instead follow Scripture, which tells us to “worship the Eternal One, your God, and serve only Him.”[d]
11 Then the devil left Jesus. And heavenly messengers came and ministered to Him.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.