Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A psalm of Asaph.
79 God, an army from the nations has attacked your land.
They have polluted your holy temple.
They have completely destroyed Jerusalem.
2 They have left the dead bodies of your people.
They have left them as food for the birds in the sky.
They have left the bodies of your faithful people.
They have left them for the wild animals.
3 They have poured out the blood of your people like water.
It is all around Jerusalem.
No one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are something our neighbors joke about.
The nations around us laugh at us and make fun of us.
5 Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Will it be forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Bring your great anger against the nations
that don’t pay any attention to you.
Bring it against the kingdoms
that don’t worship you.
7 They have swallowed up the people of Jacob.
They have destroyed Israel’s homeland.
8 Don’t hold against us the sins of our people who lived before us.
May you be quick to show us your tender love.
We are in great need.
9 God our Savior, help us.
Then glory will come to you.
Save us and forgive our sins.
Then people will honor your name.
14 Here is what the Lord says. “All my evil neighbors have taken over the land I gave my people Israel. So I will pull them up by their roots from the lands they live in. And I will pull up the roots of the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I pull up those nations, I will give my tender love to them again. I will bring all of them back to their own lands. I will take all of them back to their own countries. 16 Suppose those nations learn to follow the practices of my people. And they make their promises in my name. When they promise, they say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’ They do this just as they once taught my people to make promises in Baal’s name. Then I will give them a place among my people. 17 But what if one of those nations does not listen? Then you can be sure of this. I will pull it up by the roots and destroy it,” announces the Lord.
A Linen Belt
13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy a linen belt. Put it around your waist. But do not let it get wet.” 2 So I bought a belt, just as the Lord had told me to do. And I put it around my waist.
3 Then another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 4 “Take off the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist. Go to Perath. Hide the belt there in a crack in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath. I did just as the Lord had told me to do.
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go to Perath. Get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath. I dug up the belt. I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But it had rotted. It was completely useless.
8 Then another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 9 “In the same way, I will destroy Judah’s pride. And I will destroy the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These people are evil. They refuse to listen to what I say. They do what their stubborn hearts want them to do. They chase after other gods. They serve them and worship them. So they will be like this belt. They will be completely useless. 11 A belt is tied around a person’s waist. In the same way, I tied all the people of Israel to me. I also tied all the people of Judah to me like a belt. I wanted them to be my people. They should have brought me fame and praise and honor. But they have not listened to me,” announces the Lord.
God Is Faithful
3 Is there any advantage in being a Jew? Is there any value in being circumcised? 2 There is great value in every way! First of all, the Jews have been given the very words of God.
3 What if some Jews were not faithful? Will the fact that they weren’t faithful keep God from being faithful? 4 Not at all! God is true, even if every human being is a liar. It is written,
“You are right when you sentence me.
You are fair when you judge me.” (Psalm 51:4)
5 Doesn’t the fact that we are wrong prove more clearly that God is right? Then what can we say? Can we say that God is not fair when he brings his anger down on us? As you can tell, I am just using human ways of thinking. 6 God is certainly fair! If he weren’t, how could he judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “When I lie, it becomes clearer that God is truthful. It makes his glory shine more brightly. Why then does he find me guilty of sin?” 8 Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will happen”? Some people actually lie by reporting that this is what we say. They are the ones who will rightly be found guilty.
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