Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer (A)of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, (B)You have been our [a]dwelling place in all generations.
2 (C)Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [b]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, (D)“Return, O children of men.”
4 (E)For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
(F)They are like a sleep.
In the morning (G)they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 (H)You have set our iniquities before You,
Our (I)secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 (J)So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And (K)have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
(L)That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let (M)Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 (N)And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And (O)establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
24 Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
“Ah, (A)I will [a]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And [b]take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And (B)thoroughly[c] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges (C)as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward (D)you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [d]penitents with righteousness.
28 The (E)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [e]they shall be ashamed of the [f]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 (F)The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall (G)quench them.
Seeking a Sign(A)
29 (B)And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a (C)sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah [a]the prophet. 30 For as (D)Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 (E)The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a (F)greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for (G)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.