Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This psalm is a song that Asaph wrote for the music leader. Sing it with the music of stringed instruments.
God has great power
76 People in Judah know who God is.
He is famous in Israel.[a]
2 His home is in Salem.
Yes, he lives in Zion.[b]
3 There he destroyed all the weapons of our enemy,
their arrows, their shields,
and their swords.
He destroyed everything that they use to fight wars.
Selah.
4 God, you are the one who shines with glory!
You are greater than the greatest mountains.
5 You won against brave soldiers,
so that we robbed them of everything.
Now they are sleeping,
and they will never wake up!
They are completely helpless.
6 God of Jacob,
when your enemies heard your battle cry,
both the horses and their riders fell down dead.
7 Yes, everyone is afraid of you, our God!
When you are angry,
nobody can stand against you.
8 From heaven you said how you would judge people.
Everybody on earth became afraid.
They could not say anything!
9 This happened when you came to punish wicked people.
You came to rescue the weak and poor people in the land.
Selah.
10 Everybody will praise you,
even those who are angry against you.
You will show them how angry you really are.[c]
11 Make promises to the Lord your God,
and do what you have promised.
Everyone who serves God should bring gifts to him.
We must respect him with fear.
12 He makes proud rulers become humble.
All the kings of the world should be afraid of him.
17 I will bring you gold instead of bronze.
I will bring you silver instead of iron.
I will give you bronze to use, instead of wood.
I will give you iron instead of stones.
I will cause peace to be your city's leader.
Righteousness will rule over you.
18 You will not hear the noise of violence in your land any more.
Inside its borders,
nobody will fight wars or destroy things.
You will call your city's walls ‘Salvation’,
and you will call your city's gates ‘Praise’.
19 You will no longer need the sun
to give you light in the day again.
You will not need the moon to shine at night.
Instead, the Lord will be the light
that shines on you for ever.
Yes, your God will be the light
that brings you honour.
20 Your sun will never go down again
and your moon will never disappear.
That is because the Lord will be the light
that shines on you for ever.
Then your sad days will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
The land will belong to them for ever.
I myself will plant them in the ground
like a young plant.
As they grow, they will show how great I am.
22 The least important person among you
will become a great family.
The smallest person will become a large nation.
I am the Lord.
When the right time comes,
I will cause it to happen quickly!
25 So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body. 26 When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry. 27 Do not give the Devil a chance to hurt you like that.
28 Any of you who robbed people before must now stop taking things. Instead, you should work hard with your own hands. Then you will be able to share what you have with people who are poor.
29 Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
30 Do not do anything that will make God's Holy Spirit sad. God gave his Holy Spirit to you to show that you belong to him. As a result you know that God will make you completely free one day.
31 Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. 32 Instead, help one another and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Be very careful how you live
5 You are God's children and he loves you very much. So you must try to be like him. 2 Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
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