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!

¹⁷ Instead of brass, I will bring gold. Instead of iron, I will bring silver. Instead of wood, I will bring brass. And instead of stones, I will bring iron. I will make peace your leader, and what is right and good will be your boss. ¹⁸ Fighting will not be heard again in your land. Nothing within your land will be destroyed. You will call your walls Saving Power and your gates Praise. ¹⁹ No more will the sun be your light during the day, and the moon during the night. But the Lord will be your light forever and your God will be your shining-greatness. ²⁰ Your sun will set no more, and your moon will not become less. For the Lord will be your light forever and ever, and the days of your sorrow will end. ²¹ Then all your people will be right with God. They will have the land forever. They are the branch I planted, the work of My hands, that I may be honored. ²² The smallest one will become a family of a thousand. And the least one will become a powerful nation. I, the Lord, will make it happen in its time.”

The Healing of Two Blind Men

²⁷ Jesus went on from there. Two blind men followed Him. They called out, “Take pity on us, Son of David.” ²⁸ Jesus went into the house. The blind men came to Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do you have faith that I can do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Sir!” ²⁹ Then Jesus put His hands on their eyes and said, “You will have what you want because you have faith.” ³⁰ Their eyes were opened. Jesus told them to tell no one. ³¹ But when they had gone, they told about Him everywhere in the country.

³² As they went on their way, a man who had a demon and could not talk was brought to Jesus. ³³ When the demon was put out of him, the man was able to talk. Many people were surprised and wondered about it. They said, “We have never seen in the nation of the Jews like this.” ³⁴ But the proud religious law-keepers said, “He puts out demons by the help of the leader of the demons.”