Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A maskil of David written when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord.
I beg the Lord to help me.
2 I tell him my problems;
I tell him about my troubles.
3 I am ready to give up.
But you, Lord, know the path I am on,
and you know that my enemies have set a trap for me.
4 I look around,
and I don’t see anyone I know.
I have no place to run.
There is no one to save me.
5 Lord, I cry out to you for help:
“You are my place of safety.
You are all I need in life.”
6 Listen to my prayer.
I am so weak.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are stronger than I am.
7 Help me escape this trap,[a]
so that I can praise your name.
Then good people will celebrate with me,
because you took care of me.
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet.[a]
2 Lord, I have heard the news about you.
I am amazed, Lord, at the powerful things you did in the past.
Now I pray that you will do great things in our time.
Please make these things happen in our own days.
But in your anger,
remember to show mercy to us. Selah
3 God is coming from Teman.
The Holy One is coming from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covers the heavens,
and his praise fills the earth!
4 Rays of light shine from his hand, a bright, shining light.
There is such power hiding in that hand.
5 The sickness went before him,
and the destroyer followed behind him.[b]
6 He stood and judged the earth.
He looked at the people of all the nations,
and they shook with fear.
For many years the mountains stood strong,
but those mountains fell to pieces.
Those old, old hills fell down.
God has always been able to do that.
7 I saw that the cities of Cushan were in trouble
and that the houses of Midian trembled with fear.
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers?
Were you angry at the streams?
Were you angry at the sea?
Were you angry when you rode your horses and chariots to victory?
9 Even then you showed your rainbow.
It was proof of your agreement with the families of the earth.[c] Selah
And the dry land split the rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and shook.
The water flowed off the land.
The water from the sea made a loud noise
as it lost its power over the land.
11 The sun and the moon lost their brightness.
They stopped shining when they saw your bright flashes of lightning.
That lightning was like spears and arrows shooting through the air.
12 In anger you walked on the earth
and punished the nations.
13 You came to save your people
and to lead your chosen king[d] to victory.
You killed the leader in every evil family,
from the least important person
to the most important in the land.[e] Selah
14 You used Moses’ walking stick
to stop the enemy soldiers.
Those soldiers came
like a powerful storm to fight against us.
They thought they could defeat us easily,
as robbing the poor in secret.
15 But you marched your horses
through the deep water, stirring up the mud.
16 My whole body shook when I heard the story.
My lips trembled.
I felt weak deep down in my bones
and stood there shaking.
But I will wait patiently for destruction to come to those who attack us.
5 I want to help you remember some things you already know: Remember that the Lord[a] saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later he destroyed all those who did not believe. 6 And remember the angels who lost their authority to rule. They left their proper home. So the Lord has kept them in darkness, bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day. 7 Also, remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other towns around them. Like those angels they were full of sexual sin and involved themselves in sexual relations that are wrong. And they suffer the punishment of eternal fire, an example for us to see.
8 It is the same way with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious ones.[b] 9 Not even the archangel Michael did this. Michael argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. But Michael did not dare to condemn even the devil for his false accusations. Instead, Michael said, “The Lord punish you!”
10 But these people criticize things they don’t understand. They do understand some things. But they understand these things not by thinking, but by feeling, the way dumb animals understand things. And these are the things that destroy them. 11 It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to following the wrong way that Balaam went. They have fought against God like Korah[c] did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed.
12 These people are like dirty spots among you—they bring shame to you in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are like trees that have no fruit at harvest time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead. 13 Like the dirty foam on the wild waves in the sea, everyone can see the shameful things they do. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said this about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy angels 15 to judge everyone. He will punish all those who are against him for all the evil they have done in their lack of respect for him. Yes, the Lord will punish all these sinners who don’t honor him. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him.”
16 These people always complain and find wrong in others. They always do the evil things they want to do. They boast about themselves. The only reason they say good things about others is to get what they want.
A Warning and Things to Do
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said would happen. 18 They told you, “In the last times there will be people who laugh at God and do only what they want to do—things that are against God.” 19 These are the people who divide you. They are not spiritual, because they don’t have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up even stronger. Pray with the help of the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves safe in God’s love, as you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International