Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
The Lord Is Good to His People
1 (A) Shout praises to the Lord!
He is good to us,
and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
the north and the south.[a]
4 Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty
and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
7 At once he brought you
to a town.
8 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
9 To everyone who is thirsty,
he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
he gives good things to eat.
10 Some of you were prisoners
suffering in deepest darkness
and bound by chains,
11 because you had rebelled
against God Most High
and refused his advice.
12 You were worn out
from working like slaves,
and no one came to help.
13 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
14 He brought you out
of the deepest darkness
and broke your chains.
15 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
16 He breaks down bronze gates
and shatters iron locks.
Water from a Rock
20 The people of Israel arrived at the Zin Desert during the first month[a] and set up camp near the town of Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
2 (A) The Israelites had no water, so they went to Moses and Aaron 3 and complained, “Moses, we'd be better off if we had died along with the others in front of the Lord's sacred tent.[b] 4 You brought us into this desert, and now we and our livestock are going to die! 5 Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates.[c] But now we don't even have any water.”
6 Moses and Aaron went to the entrance to the sacred tent, where they bowed down. The Lord appeared to them in all of his glory 7-8 and said, “Moses, get your walking stick.[d] Then you and Aaron call the people together and command that rock to give you water. That's how you will provide water for the people of Israel and their livestock.”
9 Moses obeyed and took his stick from the sacred tent. 10 After he and Aaron had gathered the people around the rock, he said, “Look, you rebellious people, and you will see water flow from this rock!” 11 (B) He raised his stick in the air and struck the rock two times. At once, water gushed from the rock, and the people and their livestock had water to drink.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you refused to believe in my power, these people did not respect me. And so, you will not be the ones to lead them into the land I have promised.”
13 The Israelites had complained against the Lord, and he had shown them his holy power by giving them water to drink. So they named the place Meribah, which means “Complaining.”
6 What happened to them is a warning to keep us from wanting to do the same evil things. 7 (A) They worshiped idols, just as the Scriptures say, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance around.” So don't worship idols. 8 (B) Some of those people did shameful things, and in a single day about 23,000 died. Don't do shameful things as they did. 9 (C) And don't try to test Christ,[a] as some of them did and were later bitten by poisonous snakes. 10 (D) Don't even grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as a warning to us. All this was written in the Scriptures to teach us who live in these last days.
12 Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. 13 (E) You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.
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