Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Step toward the [d](H)irreparable ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs as (L)signs.
5 It [e]seems like one bringing up
His (M)axe into a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now they break down [g]all its (N)carved work
With axe and hammers.
7 They have [h](O)burned Your sanctuary [i]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let’s [j]completely [k]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there anyone among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, God, will the enemy (U)taunt You?
Shall the enemy (V)treat Your name disrespectfully forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Extend it from Your chest and (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from long ago,
Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 [l]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[m]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [n]in the waters.
14 [o]You crushed the heads of [p](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [q]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [r]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[s]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[t]You have (AG)prepared the [u]light and the sun.
17 [v]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[w]You have [x]created (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [y]Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)taunted You,
And a (AK)foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.
19 Do not give the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild animal;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.
21 May the (AP)oppressed person not return dishonored;
May the (AQ)afflicted and the needy praise Your name.
24 Therefore, (A)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble,
And dry grass collapses in the flame,
So their (B)root will become (C)like rot, and their blossom [a]blow away like dust;
For they have (D)rejected the Law of the Lord of armies,
And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 For this reason the (E)anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them.
And the (F)mountains quaked, and their (G)corpses [b]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
(H)Despite all this, His anger [c]is not spent,
But His (I)hand is still stretched out.
26 He will also lift up a (J)flag to the distant [d]nation,
And (K)whistle for it (L)from the ends of the earth;
And behold, it will (M)come with speed swiftly.
27 (N)No one in it is tired or stumbles,
No one slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the (O)undergarment at his waist loosened,
Nor his sandal strap broken.
28 [e](P)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses [f]seem like flint, and its chariot (Q)wheels like a storm wind.
29 Its (R)roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
It growls as it (S)seizes the prey
And carries it off with (T)no one to save it.
30 And it will (U)roar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one (V)looks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light is darkened by its clouds.
44 “Our fathers had (A)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it (B)according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn received it, and they also (C)brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the [a]nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. 46 [b](D)David found favor in God’s sight, and (E)asked that he might [c]find a dwelling place for the [d]house of Jacob. 47 But it was (F)Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 However, (G)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
49 ‘(H)Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
50 (I)Was it not My hand that made all these things?’
51 “You men who are (J)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 (K)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (L)the Righteous One, and (M)you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53 you who received the Law as (N)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
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