Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Song of Ascents
The Guardian of God’s People
121 I lift up my eyes toward the mountains—
from where will my help come?
2 My help is from the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will never let[a] your foot slip,
nor[b] will[c] your guardian become drowsy.
4 Look! The one who is guarding Israel
never sleeps and does not take naps.
5 The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your shade at your right side.
6 The sun will not ravage you by day,
nor the moon by night.
11 “O afflicted one,[a] passed back and forth,[b] and not comforted,
Look! I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 And I’ll make your battlements of rubies,
and your gates of jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be your children’s prosperity.
14 “In righteousness you’ll be established;
you will be far from tyranny,
for you won’t be afraid,
and from terror,
for it won’t come near you.
15 Watch! If anyone does attack you,
it will not be from me;
whoever may attack[c] you will fall[d] because of you.
16 Look! It is I who have created the blacksmith
who fans coals in the fire,
and produces a weapon for his purpose.
It[e] is I who have created the ravager to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon that is forged against you will be effective.[f]
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,
and their righteousness from me,”
says the Lord.
22 So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus[a] and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. 23 For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by human hands, 25 and he isn’t served by people[b] as if he needed anything. He himself gives everyone life, breath, and everything else. 26 From one man[c] he made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live, 27 so that they might look for God,[d] somehow reach for him, and find him. Of course, he is never far from any one of us. 28 For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ‘…Since we are his children, too.’[e] 29 So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone, or is an image carved by humans using their own imagination and skill. 30 Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, he now commands everyone everywhere to repent, 31 because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice[f] through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about a resurrection of the dead, some began joking about it, while others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 And so Paul left the meeting.[g] 34 Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus,[h] a woman named Damaris, and some others along with them.
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