Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 75
For the worship leader. A song of Asaph to the tune “Do Not Destroy.”[a]
1 We thank You, O True God.
Our souls are overflowing with thanks! Your name is near;
Your people remember and tell of Your marvelous works and wonders.
2 You say, “At the time that I choose,
I will judge and do so fairly.
3 When the earth and everyone living upon it spin into chaos,
I am the One who stabilizes and supports it.”[b]
[pause][c]
4 “I discipline the arrogant by telling them, ‘No more bragging.’
I discipline the wicked by saying, ‘Do not raise your horn to demonstrate your power.[d]
5 Do not thrust your horn into the air, issuing a challenge,
and never speak with insolence when you address Me.’”
6 There is no one on earth who can raise up another to grant honor,
not from the east or the west, not from the desert.
There is no one. God is the only One.
7 God is the only Judge.
He is the only One who can ruin or redeem a man.
8 For the Eternal holds a full cup of wine in His hand—
a chalice well stirred and foaming full of wrath.
He pours the cup out,
and all wicked people of the earth drink it up—every drop of it!
9 But I will tell of His great deeds forever.
I will sing praises to Jacob’s True God.
10 I will cut off the horns of strength raised by the wicked,
but I will lift up the horns of strength of the righteous.
41 Eternal One: Now let us not stop here.
What of Leviathan?
Can you haul it in on the end of a hook
or strap down its tongue with your line?
In modern times, a leviathan is understood as something large and formidable. It may apply to an abstract entity, such as a totalitarian state, or to an actual monster, such as Captain Nemo’s giant squid. That modern idea is based on an ancient creation myth. Psalm 74 alludes to God’s conquest of Leviathan, a seven-headed monster that breathed fire, before His creation of the world. Leviathan was the master of chaos, living somewhere in the deep along with Rahab, another sea monster. The story goes that God chopped off six of Leviathan’s heads and imprisoned it in the deepest parts of the ocean, where it remains today. Leviathan creeps up occasionally in the Bible as a terrifying adversary, most notably in Revelation where it is described as a dragon or beast that comes up out of the sea and is specifically identified as Satan (Revelation 12:9; 13:1-3). So Leviathan will get another chance to fight God, but once again it will fall to the One who brought divine order to chaos.
2 Will you subdue it with a fragile reed through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Do you imagine it will beg you endlessly for mercy
or lower its voice to a whisper when speaking to you?
4 Will it strike a deal with you
and enter into your service as a lifelong slave?
5 Will you play with it as you would a pet bird
or put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders haggle over its price
and others seek to divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 If you are able to lay a hand on it,
You will remember the struggle all of your days,
and you will never do it again.
9 Now look, any expectation you could subdue it will be shattered.
Just the sight of it is enough to overpower you.
10 No one is fierce enough to dare disturb it.
So is there anyone in all the earth who dares to stand up to Me?
11 Who could ever confront Me and force Me to repay him?
Everything and everyone under heaven is Mine![a]
Melchizedek is perhaps one of the most mysterious figures in Scripture. He appears for the first time in Genesis 14:17-20 as Abraham returns from battle against Chedorlaomer and his allies. The name “Melchizedek” shows up again in Psalm 110, a song of David that is widely used to celebrate the coronation of the Davidic kings in Jerusalem. When God installs His king upon the throne of Jerusalem, He promises to vanquish his enemies and establish him as an eternal priest according to the honored order of Melchizedek.
But who was Melchizedek? Here Jesus is often referred to as “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” This mysterious Melchizedek, king of righteousness and peace, is a precursor to the Prince of Peace. In his brief appearances in Genesis and in Psalm 110, he opens a window into the mystery of God and His plan to redeem the world. The tradition about Melchizedek helps the early church understand Jesus’ role as priest and king even if He doesn’t seem to fit the traditional categories.
13 Remember when God made His promise to Abraham? He had to swear by Himself, there being no one greater: 14 “Surely I will bless you and multiply your descendants.”[a] 15 And after Abraham had endured with patience, he obtained the promise he had hoped for. 16 When swearing an oath to confirm what they are saying, humans swear by someone greater than themselves and so bring their arguments to an end. 17 In the same way, when God wanted to confirm His promise as true and unchangeable, He swore an oath to the heirs of that promise. 18 So God has given us two unchanging things: His promise and His oath. These prove that it is impossible for God to lie. As a result, we who come to God for refuge might be encouraged to seize that hope that is set before us. 19 That hope is real and true, an anchor to steady our restless souls, a hope that leads us back behind the curtain to where God is (as the high priests did in the days when reconciliation flowed from sacrifices in the temple) 20 and back into the place where Jesus, who went ahead on our behalf, has entered since He has become a High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.