If Not for the Lord by Our Side

Preparing for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Three Days before Sunday (Year A)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 124

Old Testament: Genesis 49:1-33

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 138

Old Testament: Ezekiel 28:11-19

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

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Prayer

O God, you blessed Abraham and Sarah, and made them a great nation. Keep us in remembrance of the rock from which we are hewn, that the waste places of our lives may blossom to your glory. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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Reflection

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side

    —let Israel now say—

if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,

    when our enemies attacked us,

then they would have swallowed us up alive,

    when their anger was kindled against us;

then the flood would have swept us away;

    the torrent would have gone over us;

then over us would have gone

    the raging waters.

Blessed be the Lord,

    who has not given us

    as prey to their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird

    from the snare of the hunters;

the snare is broken,

    and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth (Psalm 124).

If not for the Lord by our side to stand,

Lost we would be, adrift on life’s sand.

When trials arose, fierce as the tide,

Who would we turn to, where would we hide?

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The mountains might tremble, the earth might shake,

Without His support, our spirit would break.

But with Him as our anchor, our shield, our guide,

We weather the storms, with confidence ride.

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If it had not been for the Lord so true,

Darkness would consume, skies never blue.

But with Him, we're sheltered, protected, and sure,

For in His embrace, we’re forever secure.

PRAYER: God of Miriam and Moses, you are our help from age to age. Accept our worship, our living sacrifice, and transform us by your Spirit, that, being many members of one true body, we may dare to pray together in the name of Christ the Lord. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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