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Psalm 77

1  I cry aloud to God; ♦︎
   I cry aloud to God and he will hear me.
2  In the day of my trouble I have sought the Lord; ♦︎
   by night my hand is stretched out and does not tire;
      my soul refuses comfort.
3  I think upon God and I groan; ♦︎
   I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4  You will not let my eyelids close; ♦︎
   I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5  I consider the days of old; ♦︎
   I remember the years long past;
6  I commune with my heart in the night; ♦︎
   my spirit searches for understanding.
7  Will the Lord cast us off for ever? ♦︎
   Will he no more show us his favour?
8  Has his loving mercy clean gone for ever? ♦︎
   Has his promise come to an end for evermore?
9  Has God forgotten to be gracious? ♦︎
   Has he shut up his compassion in displeasure?
10  And I said, ‘My grief is this: ♦︎
   that the right hand of the Most High has lost its strength.’
11  I will remember the works of the Lord ♦︎
   and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12  I will meditate on all your works ♦︎
   and ponder your mighty deeds.
13  Your way, O God, is holy; ♦︎
   who is so great a god as our God?
14  You are the God who worked wonders ♦︎
   and declared your power among the peoples.
15  With a mighty arm you redeemed your people, ♦︎
   the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16  The waters saw you, O God;
      the waters saw you and were afraid; ♦︎
   the depths also were troubled.
17  The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; ♦︎
   your arrows flashed on every side;
18  The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
      your lightnings lit up the ground; ♦︎
   the earth trembled and shook.
19  Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, ♦︎
   but your footsteps were not known.
20  You led your people like sheep ♦︎
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

2Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. ³The company of prophets^* who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’

4 Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. ⁵The company of prophets^* who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’

6 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. ⁷Fifty men of the company of prophets^* also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. ⁸Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ ¹⁰He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ ¹¹As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. ¹²Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

15 When the company of prophets^* who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶They said to him, ‘See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.’ He responded, ‘No, do not send them.’ ¹⁷But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, ‘Send them.’ So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, ‘Did I not say to you, Do not go?’

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ ²²Jesus answered them, ‘Have^* faith in God. ²³Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. ²⁴So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received^* it, and it will be yours.

25 ‘Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’^*