Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 126
A pilgrimage song.
126 When the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better,
it was like we had been dreaming.
2 Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter;
our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.
It was even said, at that time, among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them!”
3 Yes, the Lord has done great things for us,
and we are overjoyed.
4 Lord, change our circumstances for the better,
like dry streams in the desert waste!
5 Let those who plant with tears
reap the harvest with joyful shouts.
6 Let those who go out,
crying and carrying their seed,
come home with joyful shouts,
carrying bales of grain!
2 I will take my post;
I will position myself on the fortress.
I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
and how he[a] will respond to my complaint.
The Lord responds
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
so that a runner can read it.[b]
3 There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it testifies to the end;
it does not deceive.[c]
If it delays, wait for it;
for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
4 Some people’s desires are truly audacious;[d]
they don’t do the right thing.
But the righteous person will live honestly.
5 Moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.
He doesn’t rest.
He opens his jaws[e] like the grave;[f]
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers all nations to himself
and collects all peoples for himself.
7 These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. 8 But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ 9 and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. 10 The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death 11 so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible