Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Remember the Wonders
Psalm 77
1 For the music director, on Jeduthun: a psalm of Asaph.
2 My voice to God—and I cried out,
my voice to God—and He heard me!
3 In the day of my trouble I seek my Lord.
At night my hand stretches out untiringly.
My soul refuses to be comforted.
4 I remember God and I moan.
I muse, and my spirit grows faint. Selah
5 You hold my eyelids open—
I am so troubled—I cannot speak.
6 I ponder the days of old,
the years long ago.
7 In the night I remember my song.
I meditate with my heart
and my spirit is searching.
8 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
9 Has His mercy vanished forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
10 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Or has He in anger withdrawn his mercies?” Selah
11 Then I said: “It wounds me—
that the right hand of Elyon has changed.”
12 I will remember the deeds of Adonai.
Yes, I will muse about Your wonders of old.
13 I will meditate also on all Your work
and consider Your deeds.”
14 O God, Your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
15 You are the God who works wonders.
You have made Your power known among the peoples.
16 With your arm You redeemed Your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
17 The waters saw You, O God,
the waters saw You and writhed,
even the depths shook.
18 The clouds poured out water,
the skies resounded,
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
19 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
20 Your way was in the sea,
and Your path in the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not seen.
21 You led Your people like a flock,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
8 But as for me, I would seek God;
I would lay my cause before God.
9 Who does great things beyond comprehension,
wonders without number.
10 Who gives rain to the earth
and sends water over the plains.
11 Who places the lowly on high
and lifts mourners to salvation.
12 Who frustrates the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands attain no success.
13 Who catches the clever in their craftiness,
and thwarts the plan of the cunning.
14 By day they encounter darkness
and grope at noon as if it were night.
15 But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth,
and from the clutches of the mighty.
16 So the helpless have hope
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the one whom God corrects,
so do not despise the discipline of Shaddai.
18 For He inflicts pain, but He also binds up;
He injures, yet His hands also heal.
19 From six calamities He will deliver you,
even in seven, no harm will 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 not fear when violence comes.
22 You will laugh at violence and famine,
and will not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know shalom in your tent,
and you will take stock of your home
and find nothing missing.
25 “You will know that
your descendants will be numerous
your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in vigor,
like sheaves of grain in its season.
27 Behold, we have investigated this—it is true.
Hear it, and apply it to yourself!”
Suffering for Doing Good
8 Finally, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, tenderhearted, humble-minded. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead—it is for this reason you were called, so that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“The one who loves life,
wanting to see good days,
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 He must turn away from evil and do good.
He must seek shalom and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of Adonai are on the righteous
and His ears open to their prayer,
but the face of Adonai is against those who do evil.”[a]
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not be afraid or worry about their threats. [b] 15 Instead sanctify Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, 16 yet with humility and reverence—keeping a clear conscience so that, whatever you are accused of, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Messiah may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good (if it is God’s will) than for doing evil.
18 For Messiah once suffered for sins also—the righteous for the unrighteous[c]—in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Ruach.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.