Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
(B)You who lead Joseph (C)like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, (D)shine forth!
2 Before (E)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
4 O Lord God of hosts,
(H)How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
5 (I)You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Praise to the Lord
10 (A)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
(B)You who go down to the sea, and [a]all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, (C)yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the Lord’s Help
14 “I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in [b]labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17 They shall be (D)turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
18 “Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
32 But (A)recall the former days in which, after you were [a]illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly while you were made (B)a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while (C)you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on [b]me (D)in my chains, and (E)joyfully accepted the plundering of your [c]goods, knowing that (F)you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves [d]in heaven. 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, (G)which has great reward. 36 (H)For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, (I)you may receive the promise:
37 “For (J)yet a little while,
And (K)He[e] who is coming will come and will not [f]tarry.
38 Now (L)the[g] just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those (M)who draw back to [h]perdition, but of those who (N)believe to the saving of the soul.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.