Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 77
God’s Mighty Deeds Recalled
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.(A)
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.(B)
3 I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah(C)
4 You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old
and remember the years of long ago.(D)
6 I commune[a] with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:[b](E)
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever
and never again be favorable?(F)
8 Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?(G)
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah(H)
10 And I say, “It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”(I)
11 I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.(J)
12 I will meditate on all your work
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?(K)
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15 With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah(L)
16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.(M)
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.(N)
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.(O)
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the mighty waters,
yet your footprints were unseen.(P)
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.(Q)
Israel Crosses the Jordan
3 Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over.(A) 2 At the end of three days, the officers went through the camp(B) 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it,(C) 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”(D) 6 To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.(E) 8 You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ”(F) 9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:(G) 11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. 12 So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.(H) 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”(I)
14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,(J) 16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,[a] were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.(K) 17 While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.(L)
The Faith of Moses
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.[a](A) 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered abuse suffered for the Christ[b] to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though[c] he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.[d](B)
The Faith of Other Israelite Heroes
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.(C)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.