Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord—Our Helper

146 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! ² I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. ³ Do not put your trust in princes, in a son of a man, who cannot save us. ⁴ When his spirit leaves, he returns to the earth. His thoughts end on that day. ⁵ Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, and whose hope is in the Lord his God. ⁶ The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. He is faithful forever. ⁷ He helps those who have a bad power over them. He gives food to the hungry. And He sets those in prison free.

⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are brought down. The Lord loves those who are right and good. ⁹ The Lord keeps the strangers safe. He takes care of the children who have no father and the woman whose husband has died. But He destroys the way of the sinful. ¹⁰ The Lord will rule forever. Your God, O Zion, will rule over all people for all time. Praise the Lord!

God Promises to Help His People

¹⁴ “I have been quiet for a long time. I have been quiet and have held Myself back. Now I will cry out like a woman giving birth. I will breathe hard and fast. ¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and dry up all their plants. I will make the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. ¹⁶ I will lead the blind by a way that they do not know. I will lead them in paths they do not know. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. And I will make the bad places smooth. These are the things I will do and I will not leave them.” ¹⁷ They will be turned back and be put to shame who trust in false gods, who say to these objects of worship, “You are our gods.”

Israel Is Blind and Cannot Hear

¹⁸ Listen, you who do not hear! And look, you blind, that you may see. ¹⁹ Who is blind but My servant? Who does not hear, as the one whom I send with news? Who is so blind as he who is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ²⁰ You see many things, but you cannot tell what you see. Your ears are open, but you do not hear. ²¹ Because He is right and good, the Lord was pleased to make the Law great and give it honor.

⁹ This is why I have never stopped praying for you since I heard about you. I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. ¹⁰ Then your lives will please the Lord. You will do every kind of good work, and you will know more about God. ¹¹ I pray that God’s great power will make you strong, and that you will have joy as you wait and do not give up. ¹² I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. ¹³ God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. ¹⁴ We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.