Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
77 I cried out to God for help.
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in trouble, I looked to the Lord for help.
During the night I lifted up my hands in prayer.
But I refused to be comforted.
3 God, I remembered you, and I groaned.
I thought about you, and I became weak.
4 You kept me from going to sleep.
I was so troubled I couldn’t speak.
5 I thought about days gone by.
I thought about the years of long ago.
6 I remembered how I used to sing praise to you in the night.
I thought about it, and here is what I asked myself.
7 “Will the Lord turn away from us forever?
Won’t he ever show us his kindness again?
8 Has his faithful love disappeared forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to help us?
Has he held back his tender love because he was angry?”
10 Then I thought, “Here is what gives me hope.
For many years the Most High God showed how powerful he is.
11 Lord, I will remember what you did.
Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will spend time thinking about everything you have done.
I will consider all your mighty acts.”
13 God, everything you do is holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who does miracles.
You show your power among the nations.
15 With your mighty arm you set your people free.
You set the children of Jacob and Joseph free.
16 God, the water of the Red Sea saw you.
It saw you and boiled up.
The deepest waters were stirred up.
17 The clouds poured down rain.
The skies rumbled with thunder.
Lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
18 Your thunder was heard in the windstorm.
Your lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your path led through the Red Sea.
You walked through the mighty waters.
But your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock.
You led them by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
9 “You saw how our people of long ago suffered in Egypt. You heard them cry out to you at the Red Sea. 10 You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh. You sent plagues on all his officials. In fact, you sent them on all the people of Egypt. You knew how they treated our people. They looked down on them. But you made a name for yourself. That name remains to this very day. 11 You parted the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites. They passed through it on dry ground. But you threw into the sea those who chased them. They sank down like a stone into the mighty waters. 12 By day you led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud. At night you led them with a pillar of fire. It gave them light to show them the way you wanted them to go.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai. From heaven you spoke to our people. You gave them rules and laws. Those laws are right and fair. You gave them orders and commands that are good. 14 You taught them about your holy Sabbath day. You gave them commands, orders and laws. You did it through your servant Moses. 15 When the people were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, you brought them water out of a rock. You told them to go into the land of Canaan. You told them to take it as their own. It was the land you had promised to give them.
13 Let us stop judging one another. Instead, decide not to put anything in the way of a brother or sister. Don’t put anything in their way that would make them trip and fall. 14 I am absolutely sure that nothing is “unclean” in itself. The Lord Jesus has convinced me of this. But someone may consider a thing to be “unclean.” If they do, it is “unclean” for them. 15 Your brother or sister may be upset by what you eat. If they are, you are no longer acting as though you love them. So don’t destroy them by what you eat. Remember that Christ died for them. 16 So suppose you know something is good. Then don’t let it be spoken of as if it were evil. 17 God’s kingdom is not about eating or drinking. It is about doing what is right and having peace and joy. All this comes through the Holy Spirit. 18 Those who serve Christ in this way are pleasing to God. They are pleasing to people too.
19 So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build up one another. 20 Don’t destroy the work of God because of food. All food is “clean.” But it’s wrong to eat anything that might cause problems for someone else’s faith. 21 Don’t eat meat if it causes your brother or sister to sin. Don’t drink wine or do anything else that will make them sin.
22 Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the person who doesn’t feel guilty for what they do. 23 But whoever has doubts about what they eat is guilty if they eat. That’s because their eating is not based on faith. Everything that is not based on faith is sin.
15 We who have strong faith should help the weak with their problems. We should not please only ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors. Let us do what is good for them in order to build them up.
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