Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 65
A Thanksgiving Psalm: You Crown the Year With Goodness
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David. A song.
Introduction
1 Praise waits for you,[a] O God, in Zion.
To you vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who hear prayer, to you all mortals[b] will come.
Spiritual Blessings
3 The record of my guilt overpowered me.
You atone for our rebellious acts.
4 How blessed is the one you choose and bring near!
He will dwell in your courtyards.
We will be satisfied by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
Blessings on the Nations
5 In righteousness you answer us with awesome deeds,
O God who saves us.
He is trusted by all the farthest ends of the earth and the sea.
6 He establishes the mountains by his power.
He has wrapped himself with strength.
7 He stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the peoples.
8 Those living at the ends of the earth fear your signs.
From sunrise to sunset you let them shout for joy.
Blessings of the Harvest
9 You visit the earth and water it.
You make it very rich.
God’s stream is filled with water.
You provide grain for them, just as you planned.
10 You drench the land’s furrows. You flatten its plowed ground.
You soften it with showers. You bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your goodness.
The tracks made by your carts overflow with riches.[c]
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip.
The hills are wrapped with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks.
The valleys are dressed with grain.
They shout for joy. Yes! They sing.
Announce the Day of the Lord
2 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
Sound the alarm on my holy mountain.
Let all who live in the land tremble with fear,
for the Day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and frightening darkness.
Description of the Locust Army
Like dawn[a] spreading across the mountains,
a large and mighty people is coming.
There has been nothing like it from ancient times,
nor will there ever be again for generations to come.
3 In front of them, fire devours.
Behind them, a flame blazes.
In front of them, the land is like the Garden of Eden.
Behind them, it is a desolate wilderness.
There is no escaping them.
4 They look like horses.
They charge like cavalry.
5 With a noise like chariots
they bounce over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a powerful army lined up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, peoples are in anguish.
Every face becomes flushed.[b]
7 They charge like strong warriors.
They climb over walls like soldiers.
They all march in formation.
They do not turn aside from their path.
8 They do not collide with each other.
Each marches straight ahead in his position.
They pierce through defenses without hesitating.[c]
9 They rush into the city.
They run along the city wall.
They climb into the houses.
Like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 In front of them the earth quakes.
The sky shudders.
The sun and moon become dark,
and the stars stop shining.
Announce the Day of the Lord
11 The Lord shouts at the head of his army.
His forces are very numerous,
and those who obey his command are powerful.
The Day of the Lord is great. It is terrifying.
Who can endure it?
10 But you have faithfully followed my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfast endurance, 11 my persecutions, my sufferings—the kind that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the kind of persecutions I endured—and the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 Indeed, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 As for you, continue in the things you have learned and about which you have become convinced. You know from whom[a] you learned them 15 and that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.