Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A psalm of David when he ran away from his son Absalom.

⁵ Then you will speak while the Lord is listening. You will say, “My father Jacob was a wanderer from the land of Aram. He went down into Egypt with a few people. He lived there and became the father of a great nation. It had huge numbers of people. ⁶ But the people of Egypt treated us badly. They made us suffer. They made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He heard our voice. He saw how much we were suffering. The Egyptians were treating us badly. They were making us work very hard. ⁸ So the Lord used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring us out of Egypt. He did great and terrifying things. He did signs and amazing things. ⁹ He brought us to this place. He gave us this land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now, Lord, I’m bringing you the first share of crops from the soil. After all, you have given them to me.” Place the basket in front of the Lord your God. Bow down to him.

³² Remember those earlier days after you received the light. You remained strong in a great battle that was full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes people spoke badly about you in front of others. Sometimes you were treated badly. At other times you stood side by side with people being treated like this. ³⁴ You suffered along with people in prison. When your property was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew that God had given you better and more lasting things. ³⁵ So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards.

³⁶ You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised.

³⁸ And,

³⁹ But we don’t belong to the people who pull back and are destroyed. We belong to the people who believe and are saved.