Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Safety
A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord;
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my problems to him;
I tell him my troubles.
3 When I am afraid,
you, Lord, know the way out.
In the path where I walk,
a trap is hidden for me.
4 Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety;
no one cares if I live.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry,
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me,
because they are too strong for me.
7 Free me from my prison,
and then I will praise your name.
Then good people will surround me,
because you have taken care of me.
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 This is the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have heard the news about you;
I am amazed at what you have done.
Lord, do great things once again in our time;
make those things happen again in our own days.
Even when you are angry,
remember to be kind.
3 God is coming from Teman;
the Holy One comes from Mount Paran.[a] Selah
His glory covers the skies,
and his praise fills the earth.
4 He is like a bright light.
Rays of light shine from his hand,
and there he hides his power.
5 Sickness goes before him,
and disease follows behind him.
6 He stands and shakes the earth.
He looks, and the nations shake with fear.
The mountains, which stood for ages, break into pieces;
the old hills fall down.
God has always done this.
7 I saw that the tents of Cushan were in trouble
and that the tents of Midian trembled.
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers,
or were you angry at the streams?
Were you angry with the sea
when you rode your horses and chariots of victory?[b]
9 You uncovered your bow
and commanded many arrows to be brought to you. Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and shook with fear.
The rushing water flowed.
The sea made a loud noise,
and its waves rose high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky;
they stopped when they saw the flash of your flying arrows
and the gleam of your shining spear.
12 In anger you marched on the earth;
in anger you punished the nations.
13 You came out to save your people,
to save your chosen one.
You crushed the leader of the wicked ones
and took everything he had, from head to toe. Selah
14 With the enemy’s own spear you stabbed the leader of his army.
His soldiers rushed out like a storm to scatter us.
They were happy
as they were robbing the poor people in secret.
15 But you marched through the sea with your horses,
stirring the great waters.
16 I hear these things, and my body trembles;
my lips tremble when I hear the sound.
My bones feel weak,
and my legs shake.
But I will wait patiently for the day of disaster
that will come to the people who attack us.
5 I want to remind you of some things you already know: Remember that the Lord[a] saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later he destroyed all those who did not believe. 6 And remember the angels who did not keep their place of power but left their proper home. The Lord has kept these angels in darkness, bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day. 7 Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah[b] and the other towns around them. In the same way they were full of sexual sin and people who desired sexual relations that God does not allow. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an example for all to see.
8 It is the same with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams and make themselves filthy with sin. They reject God’s authority and speak against the angels. 9 Not even the archangel[c] Michael, when he argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses, dared to judge the devil guilty. Instead, he said, “The Lord punish you.” 10 But these people speak against things they do not understand. And what they do know, by feeling, as dumb animals know things, are the very things that destroy them. 11 It will be terrible for them. They have followed the way of Cain, and for money they have given themselves to doing the wrong that Balaam did. They have fought against God as Korah did, and like Korah, they surely will be destroyed. 12 They are like dirty spots in your special Christian meals you share. They eat with you and have no fear, caring only for themselves. They are clouds without rain, which the wind blows around. They are autumn trees without fruit that are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, tossing up their own shameful actions like foam. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with many thousands of his holy angels to 15 judge every person. He is coming to punish all who are against God for all the evil they have done against him. And he will punish the sinners who are against God for all the evil they have said against him.”
16 These people complain and blame others, doing the evil things they want to do. They brag about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.
A Warning and Things to Do
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said before. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be people who laugh about God, following their own evil desires which are against God.” 19 These are the people who divide you, people whose thoughts are only of this world, who do not have the Spirit.
20 But dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up, praying in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ with his mercy to give you life forever.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.