Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a special song that David wrote.
He prayed this when he was in the cave.[a]
Please help me, Lord!
142 I am calling to the Lord to help me.
I ask him to be kind to me.
2 I tell him about all my problems.
I tell him about all my troubles.
3 When I do not feel brave,
you are still my guide, Lord.
In the path where I walk,
my enemies have prepared a trap to catch me.
4 Look at me!
I have no friend to help me.
There is no safe place where I can go.
Nobody thinks about me.
5 Yes Lord, I am calling to you to help me.
You are my safe place where I can hide.
You are all that I need in this world where I live.
6 Please listen to me as I cry to you.
I am very upset!
My enemies are trying to catch me.
Save me from their power!
They are stronger than I am.
7 Please take me out of this prison.[b]
Then I will praise your name.
Your own good people will see how you have helped me.
They will meet round me to praise you.
Habakkuk prays
3 These are the words that the prophet Habakkuk prayed. He used special music to sing it.
2 Lord, I have heard the report about you.
I see the things that you have done, Lord,
and I respect your power.
Please do great things like that again.
Do them again now for us to see.
When you are angry with us,
please still remember to be kind!
3 God is coming from Teman!
The Holy God is coming from Paran mountain.[a]
Selah.
His beautiful power covers the whole sky!
People praise him all over the earth!
4 He is as bright as the sunrise.
His hands throw bright lightning!
That is where he hides his power.
5 As he marches to war,
bad disease marches with him.
6 God stands ready to fight,
and he causes the earth to shake.
He looks at the nations
and they shake with fear.
The very old mountains break into pieces.
The old hills fall down flat.
He travels on roads that have been there for ever.
7 I see the tents where Cushan's people live,
and the people are afraid.
The people in Midian are shaking with fear.
8 Was it the rivers that made you angry, Lord?
Did the sea make you so angry?
You rode on your chariots as horses pulled them!
You rode into battle to win against your enemies.
9 You have prepared your bow.
You are ready to shoot your arrows.
Selah.
You send rivers of water to cut the earth into pieces.
10 The mountains see you and they shake.
Rain pours down from the sky and it causes floods.
The deep sea roars
and it lifts its waves up high.
11 You shoot your bright arrows
so that the sun and the moon stand still in the sky.
Your bright spear flies like lightning,
and the sun and the moon do not move!
12 You angrily march across the earth.
You knock down the armies of the nations,
because you are so angry.
13 You have marched out to rescue your people,
and to save your special servant.[b]
You have knocked down the leader of the wicked nation.
You have removed all his clothes,
from head to foot.
Selah.
14 You threw his own spear into his head,
and you destroyed his army.
When his soldiers rushed out to attack us,
they were laughing.
They thought that they would easily win against us,
as if we were poor, weak people.
15 But you, Lord, marched across the sea with your horses.
You made the waters of the sea shake.
16 I listened to this
and I was very afraid.
My lips shook with fear
when I heard the sound.
My bones became weak.
My legs would not let me walk.
But I will be patient.
I will wait for the day of trouble that will come.
Yes, punishment will come to the people who are attacking us.
5 Remember that the Lord brought Israel's people out of Egypt where they had been slaves. But later he destroyed all those same people who did not trust him.[a] I want you to remember these important things. You should already know all about them, but you must never forget them. 6 Also remember that some angels refused to obey God. They took more authority for themselves than God had given them. They left their own proper place with God in heaven.[b] So God has tied them up as prisoners for ever in a completely dark place. He will keep them there until that great day when he will judge everyone.
7 Also, remember what happened to the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities that were near them.[c] Like those bad angels, the people who lived in those places were also doing evil things. They were having sex with people who were not their husbands or their wives. They liked to have sex in other ways that are not right. God destroyed their cities. He has punished them with fire that never stops burning. That is an example of what will happen to wicked people like them.
8 These false teachers who have come among you do the same kind of bad things. Their dreams deceive them so that they use their bodies to do disgusting things. They refuse to obey God's authority. They insult God's powerful angels. 9 Even the leader of God's angels, Michael, did not speak bad words like that against the Devil. Long ago, Michael argued with the Devil about who should have Moses' dead body.[d] But even when the Devil said bad words against God, Michael himself did not speak against the Devil. He did not think that he should do that. Instead, Michael said, ‘The Lord himself will show that you are wrong.’ 10 But these false teachers speak bad things against anything that they do not understand. They are like animals that cannot think properly. They just do the things that their nature causes them to do. Those are the things that are destroying them.
11 It will be terrible for them! They have lived in the way that Cain lived.[e] They have made the same mistake that Balaam made, because they wanted to get money for themselves.[f] Like Korah, they have refused to obey God.[g] So God will destroy them.
The false teachers are very dangerous
12 When you eat special meals together as believers, those false teachers meet with you. But they are dangerous! They will stop you showing your love for one another. They come only because they want to eat too much. They do not respect God or other people. They only think about themselves and they are not ashamed. They are like clouds that you think will bring rain. But the wind blows those clouds along and there is no rain. They are like trees that have no fruit, even at the time for harvest. People pull trees like that out of the ground. They are completely dead and can give no fruit. 13 Those false teachers are like water in the sea that the wind blows during a storm. The dirt that comes to the top of the water is like the disgusting things that those people do. They are like stars that have moved away from their proper places in the sky. God has prepared a completely dark place for them. God will keep them there for ever.
14 Long ago, Enoch also spoke about those false teachers.[h] Enoch belonged to the seventh family that was born, starting with Adam. He said, ‘Look, the Lord will come with many thousands of his own angels. 15 He will judge all people. He will punish everyone who lives in a way that does not please him. He will punish them because of all the wicked things that they have done. He will punish them because of all the bad words that they have spoken against him.’[i] 16 Those people are always complaining. They like to accuse other people. They do any bad things that will make themselves happy. They speak great things about themselves, to show how important they are. They praise other people only so that they can get something good for themselves.
Christians must continue to trust God
17 But as for you, my friends, remember the message that the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ have taught you. They spoke about what would happen in future times. 18 They said to you, ‘In the last days of this world, some people will laugh at God's message.[j] They will say that it is silly to obey God. Instead, they will do the bad things that they want to do. Those things do not please God.’
19 It is people like this who cause you to argue with one another, so that you belong to separate groups. Their thoughts belong to this world. They do not have God's Spirit in them.
20 But you, my friends, have believed the message that comes from God himself. So you must help one another to trust God more and more. Pray to God with the help of the Holy Spirit. 21 Continue to live in a way that shows God's love. As you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come, remember that he is very kind. Because of that, you will have life with God for ever.
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