Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 77[a]
Confidence in God During National Distress
1 For the leader; According to Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
I
2 I cry aloud to God,
I cry to God to hear me.
3 On the day of my distress I seek the Lord;
by night my hands are stretched out unceasingly;(A)
I refuse to be consoled.
4 When I think of God, I groan;
as I meditate, my spirit grows faint.(B)
Selah
5 You have kept me from closing my eyes in sleep;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
6 I consider the days of old;
the years long past 7 I remember.(C)
At night I ponder in my heart;
and as I meditate, my spirit probes:
8 “Will the Lord reject us forever,(D)
never again show favor?
9 Has God’s mercy ceased forever?
The promise to go unfulfilled for future ages?
10 Has God forgotten how to show mercy,
in anger withheld his compassion?”
Selah
11 [b]I conclude: “My sorrow is this,
the right hand of the Most High has abandoned us.”(E)
II
12 [c]I will recall the deeds of the Lord;
yes, recall your wonders of old.(F)
13 I will ponder all your works;
on your exploits I will meditate.
14 Your way, God, is holy;
what god is as great as our God?(G)
15 You are the God who does wonders;
among the peoples you have revealed your might.(H)
16 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.(I)
Selah
17 The waters saw you, God;
the waters saw you and lashed about,
even the deeps of the sea[d] trembled.(J)
18 The clouds poured down their rains;
the thunderheads rumbled;
your arrows flashed back and forth.(K)
19 The thunder of your chariot wheels resounded;
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.(L)
20 Through the sea was your way;
your path, through the mighty waters,
though your footsteps were unseen.(M)
21 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.(N)
Chapter 3
Preparations for Crossing the Jordan. 1 Early the next morning, Joshua and all the Israelites moved from Shittim and came to the Jordan, where they stayed before crossing over. 2 (A)Three days later the officers went through the camp 3 (B)and issued these commands to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord, your God, which the levitical priests will carry, you must break camp and follow it, 4 that you may know the way to take, for you have not gone over this road before. But let there be a space of two thousand cubits between you and the ark: do not come nearer to it.” 5 Joshua also said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wonders among you.” 6 And he told the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross ahead of the people”; so they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 (C)Then the Lord said to Joshua: Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.(D) 8 Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, there take your stand.”
9 So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord, your God.” 10 He continued: “By this you will know that there is a living God in your midst: he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.(E) 11 The ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth will cross the Jordan before you. 12 Now choose twelve men,(F) one from each of the tribes of Israel. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a single heap.”[a]
The Crossing Begun. 14 The people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them. 15 When those bearing the ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were immersed in the waters of the Jordan—which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest—[b] 16 the waters flowing from upstream halted, standing up in a single heap(G) for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely.[c] Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the Jordan riverbed(H) while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan.
23 (A)By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 [a]By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;(B) 25 he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.(C) 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.(D) 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.(E)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.