Old/New Testament
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[a]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (A)Answer me when (B)I call, God [b]of my righteousness!
You have [c](C)relieved me in my distress;
Be (D)gracious to me and (E)hear my prayer.
2 You sons of man, how long will (F)my [d]honor be treated as (G)an insult?
How long will you love (H)what is worthless and strive for a (I)lie? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has [e](J)set apart the (K)godly person for Himself;
The Lord (L)hears when I call to Him.
4 [f](M)Tremble, [g](N)and do not sin;
[h](O)Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
5 Offer [i]the (P)sacrifices of righteousness,
And (Q)trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “(R)Who will show us anything good?”
(S)Lift up the light of Your face upon us, Lord!
7 You have put (T)joy in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine are abundant.
8 In peace I will [j]both (U)lie down and sleep,
For You alone, Lord, have me (V)dwell in safety.
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the music director; for [k]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (W)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my (X)sighing.
2 Listen to (Y)the sound of my cry for help, (Z)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, [l]You will hear my voice;
In the (AA)morning I will present my [m]prayer to You and be on the (AB)watch.
4 For You are not a God (AC)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(AD)No evil can dwell with You.
5 The (AE)boastful will not (AF)stand before Your eyes;
You (AG)hate all who do injustice.
6 You (AH)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes (AI)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (AJ)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
[n]At Your holy temple I will (AK)bow in (AL)reverence for You.
8 Lord, (AM)lead me (AN)in Your righteousness (AO)because of my enemies;
Make Your way [o]straight before me.
9 For there is (AP)nothing [p]trustworthy in [q]their mouth;
Their (AQ)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (AR)throat is an open grave;
They [r]flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them pay, God;
(AS)Have them fall by their own schemes!
(AT)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are (AU)rebellious against You.
11 But (AV)rejoice, all who (AW)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And [s]may You (AX)shelter them,
That those who (AY)love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For You (AZ)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You (BA)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the music director; with stringed instruments, [t]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 Lord, (BB)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am (BC)frail;
(BD)Heal me, Lord, for (BE)my bones are horrified.
3 And my (BF)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—(BG)how long?
4 Return, Lord, (BH)rescue my [u]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
5 For (BI)there is no [v]mention of You in death;
In [w]Sheol, who will praise You?
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in (A)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning (B)in the synagogue with the Jews and (C)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were [a]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could (D)this [b]scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching (E)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they (F)took him and brought him [c]to the [d](G)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what (H)this new teaching is [e]which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers (I)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
Sermon on Mars Hill
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the [f]Areopagus and said, “Men of (J)Athens, I see that you are very (K)religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the (L)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what (M)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 (N)The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is (O)Lord of heaven and earth, does not (P)dwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, (Q)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and (R)He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having (S)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, (T)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (U)in Him we live and move and [g]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we (V)ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having (W)overlooked (X)the times of ignorance, God is (Y)now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set (Z)a day on which (AA)He will judge [h](AB)the world in righteousness [i]through a Man whom He has (AC)appointed, having furnished proof to all people [j]by (AD)raising Him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of (AE)the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you [k]again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the (AF)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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