Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills [of Jerusalem]—
From where shall my help come?(A)
2
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.(B)
4
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber [briefly] nor sleep [soundly].
5
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.(C)
6
The sun will not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.(D)
7
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your life.
8
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do]
From this time forth and forever.(E)
11
“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12
“And I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,
And all your [barrier] [a]walls of precious stones.(A)
13
“And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the Lord],
And great will be the [b]well-being of your sons.(B)
14
“You will be firmly established in righteousness:
You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,
And from terror, for it will not come near you.
15
“If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.
Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16
“Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And who produces a weapon for its purpose;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17
“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.
This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.
Sermon on Mars Hill
22 So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects. 23 Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN [a]UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He [b]served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.(A) 26 And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories. 27 This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of [c]your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 So then, being God’s children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man. 30 Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives], 31 because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”(B)
32 Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, [d]some mocked and sneered; but others said, “We will hear from you again about this matter.” 33 So Paul left them. 34 But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the Council of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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