Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; al tashcheth; a psalm by Asaph; a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks.
You are present, and your miracles confirm that.
2 When I choose the right time,
I will judge fairly.
3 When the earth and everyone who lives on it begin to melt,
I will make its foundations as solid as rock. Selah
4 I said to those who brag, “Don’t brag,”
and to wicked people,
“Don’t raise your weapons.
5 Don’t raise your weapons so proudly
or speak so defiantly.”
6 The ⌞authority⌟ to reward someone does not ⌞come⌟
from the east,
from the west,
or ⌞even⌟ from the wilderness.
7 God alone is the judge.
He punishes one person and rewards another.
8 A cup is in the Lord’s hand.
(Its foaming wine is thoroughly mixed with spices.)
He will empty it,
⌞and⌟ all the wicked people on earth
will have to drink every last drop.
9 But I will speak ⌞about your miracles⌟ forever.
I will make music to praise the God of Jacob.
10 I will destroy all the weapons of wicked people,
but the weapons of righteous people will be raised proudly.
The Lord Continues: Can You Conquer Leviathan, Job?
41 [a]“Can you pull Leviathan out ⌞of the water⌟ with a fishhook
or tie its tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a ring through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it plead with you for mercy
or speak tenderly to you?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
so that you can take it as your permanent slave?
5 Can you play with it like a bird
or keep it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over it
and divide it among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on it.
Think of the struggle!
Don’t do it again!
9 Certainly, any hope ⌞of defeating it⌟ is a false hope.
Doesn’t the sight of it overwhelm you?
10 No one is brave enough to provoke Leviathan.
Then who can stand in front of me? [b]
11 Who can confront me that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to me!
13 God made a promise to Abraham. Since he had no one greater on whom to base his oath, he based it on himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 So Abraham received what God promised because he waited patiently for it.
16 When people take oaths, they base their oaths on someone greater than themselves. Their oaths guarantee what they say and end all arguments. 17 God wouldn’t change his plan. He wanted to make this perfectly clear to those who would receive his promise, so he took an oath. 18 God did this so that we would be encouraged. God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise. These two things can never be changed. Those of us who have taken refuge in him hold on to the confidence we have been given. 19 We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives. This confidence goes into the ⌞holy⌟ place behind the curtain 20 where Jesus went before us on our behalf. He has become the chief priest forever in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
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