Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 85
You Showed Favor to Your Land
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For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Past Goodness
1 You showed favor to your land, O Lord.
You restored Jacob.
2 You removed the guilt of your people. Interlude
You covered all their sin.
8 I will hear what the true God, the Lord, will say.
He indeed speaks peace to his people, to his favored ones,
but do not let them turn to foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth meet together.
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give good things,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness walks in front of him.
It prepares the way for his footsteps.
Israel’s Need to Return to the Lord
6 Come, let us return to the Lord.
For he has torn us to pieces,
but he will heal us.
He has struck us,
but he will bandage our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us.
On the third day he will raise us up,
so that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord.
Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord.
As surely as the sun rises,
the Lord will appear.
He will come to us like a heavy rain,
like the spring rain that waters the earth.
God’s Grief Over Israel’s Impenitence
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
For your faithfulness[a] is like a morning mist,
like early dew that disappears.
5 That is why I cut them to pieces by means of the prophets.
I killed them with the words of my mouth.
The judgments against you go forth like the light.
6 For I desire mercy,[b] and not sacrifice,
and the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
Thanksgiving for the Faith of the Thessalonians
2 We always give thanks to God for all of you as we make mention of you in our prayers, 3 because we constantly remember before God our Father your work produced by faith, your labor produced by love, and your patient endurance produced by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 Dear brothers,[a] loved by God, we know that God has chosen you, 5 because our gospel did not come to you with mere words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. You yourselves know very well what kind of people we proved to be for your sake, while we were with you. 6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you welcomed the word during a time of great affliction with the joy from the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.[b] 8 Indeed, the word of the Lord has resounded from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything, 9 because they themselves inform us about what kind of reception we received from you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 10 They also report how you patiently wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, the one who is going to rescue us from the coming wrath.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.