Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader, Jeduthun.
A prayer in times of trouble[a]
77 I will call out to God for help.
I will call aloud to God,
and he will listen to me.
2 When trouble came to me,
I looked for the Lord to help me.
All through the night,
I lifted my hands to him while I prayed.
But I did not feel peace in myself.
3 When I think about God,
I am sad and upset.
I do not know if he will help me.
Selah.
4 God, you do not let me close my eyes to sleep.
I am so upset that I cannot even speak.[b]
5 I think about my life long ago,
in the years that have passed.
6 At night, I remember the songs that I sang before.
I think carefully about what is happening.
7 I ask myself, ‘Will the Lord always turn against me?
Will he never be kind to me again?
8 Does he no longer have a faithful love for his people?
Will he never do what he has promised us?
9 Has God forgotten to be kind and help us?
Is he so angry that he will not be kind to us any more?’[c]
Selah.
10 Then I said, ‘This makes me very upset!
Has the Most High God stopped helping us?
11 I will remember the things that the Lord has done.
Yes, I will remember the miracles that you did long ago.
12 I will think about everything that you have done.
I will think carefully about all those great things.’
13 God, your ways are holy.
There is no god as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does miracles.
You show the nations
that you are very powerful.
15 You used your power to rescue your people.
Yes, you saved the descendants
of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah.
16 The waters of the sea saw you, God.
When they saw you,
they shook with fear!
Even the deepest seas were afraid.
17 Rain poured down from the clouds.
The noise of thunder was in the skies.
Your arrows of lightning
shot everywhere.
18 The sound of your thunder was in the storm.
Your lightning made all the world bright.
The earth shook.
19 You went through the sea.
Your path went through the deep water,
but nobody saw where your feet had gone.
20 You led your people,
as a shepherd leads his sheep.
Moses and Aaron did that for you.
The people cross the Jordan
3 Early the next morning, Joshua and all the Israelites left Shittim. They put up their tents beside the Jordan River. They waited to cross the river.
2 Three days later, the Israelite leaders went to every tent. 3 They commanded the people, ‘The Levite priests will carry the Covenant Box of the Lord your God. When you see them, you must leave here and you must follow them. 4 They will show you the way to go because you have never been here before. But do not go too near to the Covenant Box. Stay about 1,000 metres behind it.’
5 Joshua said to the people, ‘Make yourselves ready to serve the Lord as his holy people. Tomorrow, the Lord will do great miracles among you.’
6 He said to the priests, ‘Pick up the Covenant Box, and carry it in front of the people.’ So they picked it up, and they went on in front of the people.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make all the Israelite people respect you. They will know that I am with you, in the same way that I was with Moses. 8 The priests that are carrying the Covenant Box must go to the shore of the Jordan River. Tell them to go into the water and to stand there.’
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 The God who lives for ever is with you. He will certainly chase the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites out from this land.[a] Then you will have their land. The Lord will show you that he will certainly do this. 11 Look now! The Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan River in front of you. 12 Now choose 12 men, one from each tribe of Israel's family. 13 Watch the priests who are carrying the Covenant Box. As soon as their feet touch the water of the river, you will see that the water stops running. It will rise up like a wall.’
14 So the Israelite people prepared to leave their tents. The priests carried the Covenant Box towards the Jordan River. The people followed them. 15 It was the time of the harvest and there was a lot of water coming down the river. But when the priests reached the shore of the river with the Covenant Box and their feet touched the water, 16 the water stopped. It stopped a long way up the river, at a town called Adam. That is near Zarethan. The water going down to the Salt Sea stopped completely. So the people crossed the river near Jericho city. 17 The priests stood in the middle of the river on dry ground, with the Lord's Covenant Box. While they stood there, all the Israelite people walked across the river on dry ground. In that way, the whole nation arrived on the other side of the river.
23 Moses' parents believed God. When Moses was born, they hid him for three months. They saw that he was a very special child. As a result of their faith, they did not obey Egypt's king. They were not afraid to do that.[a]
24 Moses himself also believed God. When he became a man, he refused to be called the son of the king's daughter. 25 Instead, Moses chose to join with God's people. He chose to receive trouble and pain together with them. He did not want to live in the king's house and do wrong things. He would only be happy for a short time there.[b] 26 Moses could have been very rich in Egypt. But instead, he let people insult him. He chose to receive trouble because of God's special Messiah. He thought that was worth more than if he had a lot of money. He thought carefully about what God would give him at a future time.[c] 27 As a result of his faith, Moses left Egypt. He knew that the king would be angry, but Moses was not afraid of him. Instead, he continued strongly to trust God. Nobody can see God, but Moses lived like someone who could see God.[d]
28 As a result of his faith, Moses told Israel's people to prepare the first Passover meal. He told them to put blood from the sacrifice round their doors. Then the angel who destroyed people came to every home. When he saw the blood, he did not kill the oldest sons in the families of Israel's people.[e]
29 Because of their faith, Israel's people walked across the Red Sea. They walked through there as if they were walking on dry land. But when the soldiers from Egypt tried to cross the same place, they drowned.[f]
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