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!

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 There was an in-law of the family of Naomi’s husband there whose name was Boaz. He was a very rich man of the family of Elimelech. ² Ruth, the Moabite woman, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field to gather grain behind someone who might show favor to me.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So Ruth went and gathered in the field behind those who picked the grain. And she happened to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ Now Boaz was seen coming from Bethlehem. He said to the people gathering the grain, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bring good to you.” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was watching over those who gathered grain, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ The servant who watched over those who gathered grain said, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ She said, ‘Let me gather food behind the others who gather among the grain.’ So she came and has stayed from morning until now. She has rested in the house a short time.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Be careful to listen, my daughter. Do not go to gather grain in another field. Do not leave this one. But stay here with my women who gather grain. ⁹ Keep your eyes upon the field where they gather grain. Go behind them. I have told the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars. Drink the water the servants have put there.”

²¹ But now God has made another way to make men right with Himself. It is not by the Law. The Law and the early preachers tell about it. ²² Men become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ. God will accept men if they come this way. All men are the same to God. ²³ For all men have sinned and have missed the shining-greatness of God. ²⁴ Anyone can be made right with God by the free gift of His loving-favor. It is Jesus Christ Who bought them with His blood and made them free from their sins. ²⁵ God gave Jesus Christ to the world. Men’s sins can be forgiven through the blood of Christ when they put their trust in Him. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to show how right He is. Before this, God did not look on the sins that were done. ²⁶ But now God proves that He is right in saving men from sin. He shows that He is the One Who has no sin. God makes anyone right with Himself who puts his trust in Jesus.

²⁷ What then do we have to be proud of? Nothing at all! Why? Is it because men obey the Law? No! It is because men put their trust in Christ. ²⁸ This is what we have come to know. A man is made right with God by putting his trust in Christ. It is not by his doing what the Law says. ²⁹ Is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not the God of the people who are not Jews also? He is for sure. ³⁰ He is one God. He will make Jews and the people who are not Jews right with Himself if they put their trust in Christ. ³¹ Does this mean that we do away with the Law when we put our trust in Christ? No, not at all. It means we know the Law is important.