Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A maskil [a] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger
smolder against the sheep in your care?
2 Remember your congregation.
Long ago you made it your own.
You bought this tribe to be your possession.
This tribe is Mount Zion, where you have made your home.
3 Turn your steps toward these pathetic ruins.
The enemy has destroyed everything in the holy temple.
4 Your opponents have roared inside your meeting place.
They have set up their own emblems as symbols.
5 Starting from its entrance, they hacked away
like a woodcutter in a forest.
6 They smashed all its carved paneling with axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your holy place to the ground.
They dishonored the place where you live among us.
8 They said to themselves, “We will crush them.”
They burned every meeting place of God in the land.
9 We no longer see miraculous signs.
There are no prophets anymore.
No one knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, will the enemy insult us?
Will the enemy despise you forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, especially your right hand?
Take your hands out of your pockets.
Destroy your enemies!
12 And yet, from long ago God has been my king,
the one who has been victorious throughout the earth.
13 You stirred up the sea with your own strength.
You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food.
15 You opened the springs and brooks.
You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day and the night are yours.
You set the moon and the sun in their places.
17 You determined all the boundaries of the earth.
You created summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy insulted you, O Lord.
Remember how an entire nation of godless fools despised your name.
19 Do not hand over the soul of your dove to wild animals.
Do not forget the life of your oppressed people forever.
20 Consider your promise [b]
because every dark corner of the land is filled with violence.
21 Do not let oppressed people come back in disgrace.
Let weak and needy people praise your name.
22 Arise, O God!
Fight for your own cause!
Remember how godless fools insult you all day long.
23 Do not forget the shouting of your opponents.
Do not forget the uproar made by those who attack you.
The Lord Will Use Another Nation to Punish His People
24 As flames burn up straw
and dry grass shrivels in flames,
so their roots will rot,
and their blossoms will blow away like dust.
They have rejected the teachings of the Lord of Armies
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 That’s why the anger of the Lord burns hot against his people,
and he is ready to use his power to strike them down.
The hills tremble,
and dead bodies lie like garbage in the streets.
Even after all this, his anger has not disappeared,
and he is still ready to use his power.
26 The Lord raises up a flag for the nations far away.
With a whistle he signals those at the ends of the earth.
Look, they are coming very quickly!
27 None of them grow tired or stumble.
None of them slumber or sleep.
The belts on their waists aren’t loose
or their sandal straps broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened; all their bows are ready to shoot.
Their horses’ hoofs are as hard as flint.
Their chariot wheels are as quick as the wind.
29 They roar like a lioness.
They growl like a young lion.
They growl as they snatch their prey
and carry it off to where no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over their prey
as the sea roars.
If they look at the land,
they will see only darkness and distress.
Even the light will be darkened by thick clouds.
44 “In the desert our ancestors had the tent of God’s promise. Moses built this tent exactly as God had told him. He used the model he had seen. 45 After our ancestors received the tent, they brought it into this land. They did this with Joshua’s help when they took possession of the land from the nations that God forced out of our ancestors’ way. This tent remained here until the time of David, 46 who won God’s favor. David asked that he might provide a permanent place for the family of Jacob.[a] 47 But Solomon was the one who built a house for God.
48 “However, the Most High doesn’t live in a house built by humans, as the prophet says:
49 ‘The Lord says,
“Heaven is my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
What kind of house are you going to build for me?
Where will I rest?
50 Didn’t I make all these things?” ’
51 “How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute? They killed those who predicted that a man with God’s approval would come. You have now become the people who betrayed and murdered that man. 53 You are the people who received Moses’ Teachings, which were put into effect by angels. But you haven’t obeyed those teachings.”
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