Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the [c]nations shall (D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
(E)He shall appear in His glory.
17 (F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
5 (A)Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
(B)And lean not on your own understanding;
6 (C)In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [a]direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own (D)eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your [b]flesh,
And (E)strength[c] to your bones.
God’s True Tabernacle
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses (A)to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 (B)which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, (C)whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the (D)days of David, 46 (E)who found favor before God and (F)asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 (G)But Solomon built Him a house.
48 “However, (H)the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven(I) is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest?
50 Has My hand not (J)made all these things?’
Israel Resists the Holy Spirit
51 “You (K)stiff-necked[a] and (L)uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 (M)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of (N)the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 (O)who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
Stephen the Martyr
54 (P)When they heard these things they were [b]cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, (Q)being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the (R)glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! (S)I see the heavens opened and the (T)Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.