Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

³ I remember God, and I groan;
    I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah
⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I have considered the days of old,
    the years long ago.
⁶ May I remember my song in the night;
    may I meditate in my heart;
    my spirit made a diligent search:

⁷ “Will the Lord cast off forever,
    and will He be favorable no more?
⁸ Has His mercy ceased forever,
    and have His promises failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious,
    and has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?” Selah

¹⁰ Then I said, “This is my grief;
    yet I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
¹¹ I will remember the works of the Lord;
    surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹² I will meditate also on all Your work
    and ponder on Your mighty deeds.

¹³ Your way, O God, is holiness;
    what god is as great as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who can do wonders;
    You have declared Your strength among the nations.
¹⁵ You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶ The waters saw You, O God.
    The waters saw You; they were afraid;
    the depths also trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
    the skies thundered.
    Your arrows flashed about.
¹⁸ The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind,
    and Your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way is through the sea,
    and Your path in the great waters,
    and your footsteps are not seen.

²⁰ You led Your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

⁸ “Indeed, I would appeal to God,
    and before God I would set forth my case,
⁹ who does the great and the inscrutable,
    wonders without number.
¹⁰ He gives rain on the surface of the earth
    and sends water on the outdoor places.
¹¹ He sets on high those who are lowly,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He frustrates the schemes of the crafty,
    so that their hands cannot perform their plans.
¹³ He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
    and the scheme of the shrewd is swiftly stopped.
¹⁴ In the daytime they encounter darkness,
    and at noontime they grope as in the night.
¹⁵ But the needy He saves from the sword,
    from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
¹⁶ So the helpless has hope,
    and injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷ “How happy is the man whom God corrects!
    Therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty,
¹⁸ for He wounds, but He applies the bandage;
    He injures, but His hands also heal.
¹⁹ In six crises He will deliver you;
    even in seven, disaster will not touch you.
²⁰ In famine He will redeem you from death,
    and in war from the power of the sword.
²¹ You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and you will not fear violence when it comes.
²² You will laugh at devastation and famine,
    and you will not fear wild animals.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your tent is peaceful,
    and you will inspect your property and find nothing missing.
²⁵ You will know that your offspring will be many
    and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You go to the grave in a full age,
    as stalks of grain are gathered up in season.

²⁷ “Look! We have investigated all this, and it is so;
    hear it, and know for yourself.”

“He who would love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil,
    and his lips from speaking deceit.
¹¹ Let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and His ears are open to their prayers;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”^[a]