Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 94
The Lord Rules the Wicked
A Call for Vengeance
1 O Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth.
Repay the proud with what they deserve.
3 How long will the wicked, O Lord,
how long will the wicked celebrate?
The Deeds of the Wicked
4 They gush. They speak arrogantly.
All the evildoers brag about themselves.
5 They crush your people, O Lord.
They oppress the people that belong to you.
6 They kill the widow and the alien.
They murder the fatherless.
7 Then they say, “The Lord[a] does not see.
The God of Jacob does not understand.”
8 Understand, you brutes among the people.
You fools, when will you become wise?
Relief for the Righteous
9 The one who planted the ear—will he not hear?
The one who formed the eye—will he not observe?
10 The one who disciplines nations—will he not rebuke them?
He is the one who teaches mankind knowledge.
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind.
He knows that they are just vapor.
12 How blessed is the person whom you discipline, O Lord,
whom you teach from your law.
13 You grant him rest in days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not desert his people,
and he will never forsake those who are his own.
15 Then judgment will again be based on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will pursue it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had been my helper,
my soul would soon have dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, “My foot has slipped,”
your mercy, Lord, upheld me.
19 When my worries within me were many,
your comfort brought joy to my soul.
20 Can a destructive throne be allied with you,
one that creates injustice by its decrees?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
and they condemn innocent blood.
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
and my God is the rock where I take refuge.
23 Then he will repay them for their iniquity,
and he will destroy them for their wickedness.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
The Drought
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
2 Judah mourns.
Her city gates fall apart.
They mourn for the land,
and a cry of grief rises from Jerusalem.
3 The strong send the weak to get water.
They go to the cisterns but find no water.
They return with empty containers.
Ashamed and humiliated, they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked,
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers are distressed.
They cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field gives birth
and then abandons the fawn,
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights.
They pant for air like jackals.
Their eyes grow dim,
because there are no plants to eat.
Jeremiah’s Prayers and the Lord’s Answers
7 Do something, Lord, for the sake of your name,
even though our guilt testifies against us.
We have rebelled many times,
and we have sinned against you.
8 You are Israel’s hope,
its Savior in times of trouble.
Why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only for the night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a strong warrior who cannot save?
You are among us, Lord,
and we are called by your name.
Do not forsake us!
10 This is what the Lord says concerning this people.
They love to wander!
They never restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them.
Instead, he will remember their guilt
and punish their sins.
17 You, Jeremiah, are to say this to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears,
without stopping night or day,
because the virgin daughter of my people has been severely injured.
It is a very serious wound.
18 If I go out to the field,
I see those who have been run through by the sword.
If go into the city,
I see those diseased by famine.
Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they do not know.
The People’s Prayer
19 Lord, have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us,
so that we cannot be healed?
We looked for health,
but nothing good came.
We hoped for healing,
but there was only terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness
and the guilt of our fathers.
We have sinned against you.
21 For your name’s sake, do not despise us.
Do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us,
and do not break it.
22 Do the worthless idols of the nations send rain?
Do the skies provide the torrential showers?
Is it not rather you, who are the Lord our God?
Our hope is in you,
because you are the one who does all these things.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, pay attention: Satan has asked to have you all, so that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brothers.”
33 He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”
54 Then they seized him, led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house.
Peter Denies Jesus
Peter followed at a distance. 55 When they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 A servant girl saw him sitting near the light. She looked closely at him and said, “This man also was with him.”
57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
58 After a little while someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them!”
But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”
59 After about one hour had passed, someone else was firmly insisting, “Truly this man was with him too, because he is a Galilean!”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today you will deny me three times.” 62 He went outside and wept bitterly.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.