Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
77 I cry out to God;
I call to God, and he ·will hear [or heard] me.
2 I ·look [sought] for the Lord on the day of ·trouble [L my distress].
All night long I ·reach out my untiring hands [L flow forth my hand and it does not grow weak],
but I ·cannot [refuse to] be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I ·become upset [moan];
when I ·think [reflect; meditate], ·I become afraid [my soul faints]. ·
4 You ·keep my eyes from closing [L grab the eyelids of my eyes].
I am too ·upset [disturbed] to say anything.
5 I keep thinking about the old days,
the years of long ago [C when things were going well].
6 At night I remember my songs.
I ·think [meditate] and ·I ask myself [L my spirit inquires]:
7 “Will the Lord reject us forever?
Will he never be ·kind [favorable] to us again?
8 Is his ·love [loyalty] gone forever?
Has he stopped speaking for all time [C he questions God’s commitment to the covenant]?
9 Has God forgotten ·mercy [compassion]?
Is he too angry to ·pity [have mercy on] us?” ·
10 Then I say, “This is what makes me sad:
·For years the power of God Most High was with us [L The right hand of the God Most High has changed].”
11 I remember what the Lord did;
I remember the ·miracles [wonderful acts] you did long ago.
12 I ·think [mused] about all the things you did
and ·consider [meditated on] your deeds.
13 God, your ways are holy.
·No god [L What god…?] is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does ·miracles [wonders];
you have ·shown [made known to] people your power.
15 By your ·power [L arm] you have ·saved [redeemed] your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. ·
16 God, the waters saw you;
they saw you and ·became afraid [L writhed];
the deep waters shook with fear.
17 The clouds poured down their rain.
The ·sky [clouds] ·thundered [L gave forth a sound].
Your lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
18 Your thunder sounded in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and ·shook [quaked].
19 You made a way through the sea
and paths through the ·deep [L many] waters,
but your footprints were not ·seen [revealed].
20 You led your people like a flock
by ·using [L the hand of] Moses and Aaron [Ex. 14–15].
9 “You saw our ·ancestors [fathers] ·suffering [miserable; afflicted; in distress] in Egypt
and heard them cry out ·at [beside] the ·Red Sea [L Sea of Reeds; Ex. 14–15].
10 You ·did [performed; displayed] signs and ·miracles [wonders] against ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh],
and against all his ·officers [officials; servants] and all the people of his land,
because you knew how ·proud [arrogant; insolent] they were to them [C Israel’s ancestors].
You ·became as famous [L made a name for yourself] ·as you are today [which remains to this day].
11 You ·divided [split; opened] the sea in front of ·our ancestors [L them];
they ·walked [passed] through the sea on dry ground [Ex. 14–15].
But you threw ·the people chasing them into the deep water [their pursuers into the depths],
like a stone thrown into ·mighty [raging; surging] waters.
12 You ·led [guided] ·our ancestors [L them] with a ·pillar [column] of cloud by day
and with a ·pillar [column] of fire at night [Ex. 13:21].
It lit the way
they were supposed to go.
13 You came down ·to [on; at] Mount Sinai
and spoke from heaven to ·our ancestors [L them].
You gave them ·fair [just] ·rules [judgments] and true ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah],
good ·orders [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands.
14 You ·told [revealed; made known to] them about your holy Sabbath [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15]
and gave them commands, ·orders [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah]
through your servant Moses.
15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven [C the manna; Ex. 16:31].
When they were thirsty, you brought them water from ·the [a] rock [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].
You told them to enter and ·take over [possess]
the land you had ·promised [sworn; L raised your hand] to give them.
Do Not Cause Others to Sin
13 For that reason ·we should [or let us] stop judging each other. We must make up our minds not to ·do anything that will make another Christian sin [L place a stumbling block or obstacle before a brother or sister]. 14 ·I am in the Lord Jesus, and I know [L I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus] that there is ·no food that is wrong to eat [L nothing impure/unclean/defiling in itself]. But if a person ·believes [considers; regards] something is ·wrong [impure; unclean; defiling], that thing is ·wrong [impure; unclean; defiling] for him. 15 If ·you hurt your brother’s or sister’s faith [your brother or sister is distressed/grieved] because of something you eat, you are ·not really following the way of [L no longer walking/living in] love. ·Do not destroy someone’s faith by eating food he thinks is wrong, because Christ died for him [L By your eating do not destroy that one for whom Christ died!; C so trivial a matter as food must not negate the tremendous sacrifice Christ made]. 16 Do not allow what you think is good to ·become what others say is evil [be criticized/regarded as evil; L be slandered/blasphemed]. 17 ·In the kingdom of God, eating and drinking are not important [L For the kingdom of God is not (about) eating and drinking]. The important things are ·living right with God [righteousness], peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Anyone who serves Christ by living this way is pleasing God and will be ·accepted [approved; respected] by other people.
19 So let us try to do what makes peace and ·helps [builds up; edifies] one another. 20 Do not let the eating of food ·destroy [tear down] the work of God. All foods are ·all right to eat [clean; ritually undefiled], but it is wrong to eat food that causes someone else to ·sin [stumble; fall]. 21 It is ·better [good] not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that will cause your brother or sister to ·sin [stumble; fall].
22 Your beliefs about these things should be kept secret between you and God. ·People are happy [Blessed are those] ·if they can do what they think is right without feeling guilty [L who do not condemn themselves concerning issues they have examined and approved]. 23 But those who eat something ·without being sure it is right [while doubting; with misgivings] are ·wrong [condemned] because they did not believe it was right. Anything that ·is done without believing it is right [or does not come from faith] is sin.
15 We who are ·strong in faith [L strong] should ·help [bear with; be patient with] the weak with their ·weaknesses [failings; struggles], and not please only ourselves. 2 Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to ·help them be stronger in faith [edify them; build them up].
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