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.
8 I suggest that you ask God to help you.
You should tell him about your problems.
9 He does great things that nobody can understand.
He does more miracles than anyone can count.
10 He gives rain for the earth.
He sends water for the fields.
11 He gives honour to humble people.
When people are suffering, he puts them in a safe place.
12 He stops the ideas of clever people.
They cannot do what they want to do.
13 When wise people try to do clever things,
he causes those things to give them trouble.
He quickly stops their clever ideas.
14 In the middle of the day, it becomes dark for those people.
At midday, they see no better than blind people.
15 He saves poor people when wicked people attack them.
He rescues weak people from the power of strong people.
16 So poor people can hope for justice.
Wicked people have to be quiet.
17 If Almighty God warns you to do what is right,
he has blessed you.
So do not be upset when he decides to do that.
18 He may cause you to have pain,
but he will make you well again.
He may hurt you,
but he will also give you health.
19 If trouble comes to you six times, he will rescue you.
No bad thing will hurt you, as often as it happens.
20 If there is a time of famine,
he will keep you alive.
He will protect you from death in a time of war.
21 If people insult you, he will take care of you.
When people attack you, you will not be afraid.
22 In times of danger and famine, you will be brave.
You will not be afraid of wild animals.
23 The stones in your fields will not give you trouble.
The wild animals will not attack you.
24 You will know that your home is strong and safe.
When you check all your land,
you will see that all your animals are safe.
25 You will know that your children will be very many.
You will have as many descendants as the grass that grows in the ground.
26 You will not die until you are old.
You will grow with strength until you die,
like crops that grow until the time of harvest.
27 We have thought carefully about these things.
We know that they are true.
So listen to what we say.
Accept it and it will be good for you.’
Christians must be ready to have trouble
8 Now I want to say this to you before I finish my letter. All of you should agree with each other in what you think. You should try to understand how other people are feeling. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be kind to each other. Do not think that you are more important than other people. 9 If people do bad things to you, do not do anything bad to them in return. If people insult you, do not insult them in return. Instead, pray that God will bless those people. That is what God wants you to do. Then you will receive the gift of God's blessing. 10 The Bible says this:
‘Do you want to enjoy your life?
Do you want to be happy?
Then you must be careful not to say evil things.
Do not tell any lies.
11 Stop doing evil things.
Instead, do things that are good.
Try to be friends with people.
Help people to live in peace with each other.
12 Remember that the Lord God sees what everyone does.
He takes care of people who do what is right.
When they pray, he listens to them.
But the Lord God turns against people who do evil things.’[a]
13 If you always try to do good things, then nobody should hurt you. 14 But somebody might give you trouble, even when you do what is right. If that happens, God will bless you. So do not be afraid of what people may do to you. Do not worry about it. 15 Instead, always remember that Christ is your Lord. Let him rule how you live. People may ask you, ‘Why do you trust God to help you?’ You must always be ready to answer them about that. 16 But when you tell them, be kind and polite. Do only what you know is right. Then those people will see that you live in a good way because you believe in Christ. When they say bad things against you they will become ashamed. 17 Sometimes God may let you have trouble and pain even when you have done good things. But that is better than if you have trouble and pain because you have done bad things.
18 Christ himself always did what was right. But he received pain on behalf of people who do what is wrong. He died once to take away all those wrong things. He did that to bring you near to God. People killed Christ's body, but God's Spirit made him alive again.
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