Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ ALWAYS I will lift up my soul to You, Eternal One,
² BECAUSE You are my God and I put my trust in You.
    Do not let me be humiliated.
    Do not let my enemies celebrate at my expense.
³ CERTAINLY none of the people who rely on You will be shamed,
    but those who are unfaithful, who intentionally deceive,
    they are the ones who will be disgraced.

^16-17     But our ancestors resisted following You.
        They were arrogant. They were proud.
    They refused to obey Your commands, plugging their ears.
        Knowing what You had done for them in the past,
    They willfully forgot it in the present. Stubborn. Rebellious.
        Instead of following You,
    They appointed their own leader
        to take them back to the land of their oppression—to Egypt!
    But You are not like us, God.
        You are filled with love, compassion, and forgiveness.
    You endure much with your anger and display Your loyal love;
        You did not abandon them,
¹⁸     Even when they molded a cow out of gold for themselves, saying,
        “This is the god who rescued us from Egypt.”
    They committed horrible atrocities.
¹⁹     In Your incomprehensible compassion,
        You did not abandon them in the wilderness.
    The pillar of cloud didn’t evaporate;
        day by day it guided them.
    The pillar of fire was not extinguished;
        night by night it led them along the right paths.
²⁰     In Your generosity, You gave them Your good Spirit to teach them.
        Not once did You hold back manna for their mouths
        or drink for their thirst.
²¹     In 40 years of living in the wilderness,
        You provided for every need they had:
    Their clothing did not wear out,
        nor did their feet swell from endless walking.
²²     You gave them kingdoms and peoples
        that they could divide up to the corners of their territory:
    The country of Sihon (king of Hesbon)
        and the territory of Og (king of Bashan).
²³     The children of Israel multiplied
        and rivaled the stars in the sky.
    You brought them to the very land
        You promised Abraham’s
    His descendants would come into and possess.
²⁴     Into the land they went, and it became theirs.
        For our forefathers You made sure even the Canaanites there were powerless.
    You subdued everything and everyone to their power—
        land, kings, and people—to do with as they pleased.
²⁵     They overwhelmed strong and secure cities.
        They overtook fertile, productive land.
    They claimed well-furnished houses, wells that were already dug,
        vineyards, olive groves, and orchards filled with fruit.
    They ate their fill. They grew fat.
        They basked in Your generosity and goodness.