Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader, Jeduthun.
A prayer in times of trouble[a]
77 I will call out to God for help.
I will call aloud to God,
and he will listen to me.
2 When trouble came to me,
I looked for the Lord to help me.
All through the night,
I lifted my hands to him while I prayed.
But I did not feel peace in myself.
3 When I think about God,
I am sad and upset.
I do not know if he will help me.
Selah.
4 God, you do not let me close my eyes to sleep.
I am so upset that I cannot even speak.[b]
5 I think about my life long ago,
in the years that have passed.
6 At night, I remember the songs that I sang before.
I think carefully about what is happening.
7 I ask myself, ‘Will the Lord always turn against me?
Will he never be kind to me again?
8 Does he no longer have a faithful love for his people?
Will he never do what he has promised us?
9 Has God forgotten to be kind and help us?
Is he so angry that he will not be kind to us any more?’[c]
Selah.
10 Then I said, ‘This makes me very upset!
Has the Most High God stopped helping us?
11 I will remember the things that the Lord has done.
Yes, I will remember the miracles that you did long ago.
12 I will think about everything that you have done.
I will think carefully about all those great things.’
13 God, your ways are holy.
There is no god as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does miracles.
You show the nations
that you are very powerful.
15 You used your power to rescue your people.
Yes, you saved the descendants
of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah.
16 The waters of the sea saw you, God.
When they saw you,
they shook with fear!
Even the deepest seas were afraid.
17 Rain poured down from the clouds.
The noise of thunder was in the skies.
Your arrows of lightning
shot everywhere.
18 The sound of your thunder was in the storm.
Your lightning made all the world bright.
The earth shook.
19 You went through the sea.
Your path went through the deep water,
but nobody saw where your feet had gone.
20 You led your people,
as a shepherd leads his sheep.
Moses and Aaron did that for you.
9 You saw that our ancestors had trouble and pain in Egypt. You heard them cry to you for help at the Red Sea. 10 You did great miracles to show your power against Pharaoh, his officers and all his people.[a] You knew that they were being cruel to your people. You showed everyone that you are a great God. And people still know that it is true. 11 You divided the sea into two parts so that your people could cross it on a dry path. When Pharaoh's soldiers chased after them, you threw them into the sea. They drowned in the water, like a heavy stone. 12 During the day, you led your people with a pillar of cloud. At night, you led them with a pillar of fire to give them light. You showed them the way that they should travel.
13 At Sinai mountain, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true. 14 You told them about the Sabbath and how to make it a special day. You gave all your laws to Moses so that he would teach them to your people. 15 You gave your people bread from heaven when they were hungry. You gave them water from a rock to drink when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go to the land that you had promised to give them. You told them to take it for themselves.
Do not cause trouble
13 So we must no longer judge other believers. Instead, you must decide never to bring trouble to another believer. Do not cause them to do something wrong. 14 As for me, I am sure that we may eat any kind of food. God does not think that any food is unclean. The Lord Jesus has shown me that that is true. But someone else may believe that it is wrong to eat certain food. For that person, it would be wrong to eat that kind of food.
15 You should not cause another believer to be sad because of what you eat. If you do make him sad, then you are not really loving him. Remember that Christ died on behalf of that person. So do not let your food make him turn away from God. 16 You may think that something is good. But still you should not do it, if other people will say that it is bad.
17 We belong to God's people and he is our King. The things that we eat and drink are not really important to him. This is important: We should do what is right. We should have peace in our minds. And we should be truly happy. God's Holy Spirit helps us to live like that. 18 If anyone serves Christ in that way, they will make God happy. And other people will respect them.
19 So then, we should try to live in a way that brings peace. We should try to help each other so that we become stronger as God's people. 20 Do not bring trouble to someone because of the food that you eat. Do not destroy what God has done in the life of another believer. God lets us eat all kinds of food. But do not eat anything that will cause another believer to do something wrong. 21 It is good not to do anything that might cause another believer to do something wrong. That includes if you eat meat or if you drink wine.
22 What you believe about these things should be a secret between yourself and God. You should do what you have decided is right for you. Do not feel guilty about what you eat. Then God will bless you. 23 But someone else may not be sure whether it is right to eat certain kinds of food. If that person does eat that kind of food, then he shows that he is guilty. He has not trusted God that it is right for him to do that. Whatever things we do, we must trust God about them. If we do not trust God that something is right, then it is a sin.
15 Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not just do things that will make us happy ourselves. 2 Instead, each of us should do things that will make other believers happy. We should help them to trust God more strongly.
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