Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(A) and earth.(B)

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches(C) over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over(D) you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun(E) will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm(F)
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.(G)

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen(A) to me, you who pursue righteousness(B)
    and who seek(C) the Lord:
Look to the rock(D) from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham,(E) your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.(F)
The Lord will surely comfort(G) Zion(H)
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(I)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(J)
    her wastelands(K) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(L) will be found in her,
    thanksgiving(M) and the sound of singing.

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51 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

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Thanksgiving

I thank God,(A) whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience,(B) as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.(C) Recalling your tears,(D) I long to see you,(E) so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith,(F) which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice(G) and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.(H) For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,(I) but gives us power,(J) love and self-discipline.

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I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

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