Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
64 [a]If only you would split open the heavens and come down!
The mountains would quake at your presence.
2 Be like the fire that kindles brushwood and makes water boil.
Come down to make your name known to your enemies.
The nations will tremble in your presence.
3 When you did awe-inspiring things that we didn’t expect,
you came down and the mountains quaked in your presence.
4 No one has ever heard,
no one has paid attention,
and no one has seen any god except you.
You help those who wait for you.
5 You greeted the one who gladly does right and remembers your ways.
You showed your anger, because we’ve sinned.
We’ve continued to sin for a long time.
Can we still be saved?
6 We’ve all become unclean,[b]
and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags.
All of us shrivel like leaves,
and our sins carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on your name
or tries to hold on to you.
You have hidden your face from us.
You have let us be ruined by our sins.
8 But now, Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter.
We are the work of your hands.
9 Don’t be too angry, Lord.
Don’t remember our sin forever.
Now look, we are all your people.
For the choir director; according to shoshannim eduth; by Asaph; a psalm.
80 Open your ears, O Shepherd of Israel,
the one who leads ⌞the descendants of⌟ Joseph like sheep,
the one who is enthroned over the angels.[a]
2 Appear in front of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Wake up your power, and come to save us.
3 O God, restore us and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God, commander of armies, how long will you smolder in anger
against the prayer of your people?
5 You made them eat tears as food.
You often made them drink ⌞their own⌟ tears.
6 You made us a source of conflict to our neighbors,
and our enemies made fun of us.
7 O God, commander of armies, restore us and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
17 Let your power rest on the man you have chosen,
the son of man you strengthened for yourself.
18 Then we will never turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call on you.
19 O Lord God, commander of armies, restore us, and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
3 Good will [a] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
4 I always thank God for you because Christ Jesus has shown you God’s good will. 5 Through Christ Jesus you have become rich in every way—in speech and knowledge of every kind. 6 Our message about Christ has been verified among you. 7 Therefore, you don’t lack any gift as you wait eagerly for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will continue to give you strength until the end so that no one can accuse you of anything on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God faithfully keeps his promises. He called you to be partners with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
24 “Now, after the misery of those days, the sun will turn dark, the moon will not give light, 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the universe will be shaken.
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 He will send out his angels, and from every direction under the sky, they will gather those whom God has chosen.
28 “Learn from the story of the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and it sprouts leaves, you know summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happen, you know that he is near, at the door.
30 “I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place. 31 The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
No One Knows When the Earth and the Heavens Will Disappear
32 “No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Watch! You don’t know the exact time. 34 It is like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge. He assigned work to each one and ordered the guard to be alert. 35 Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know when the owner of the house will return. It could be in the evening or at midnight or at dawn or in the morning. 36 Make sure he doesn’t come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 I’m telling everyone what I’m telling you: ‘Be alert!’ ”
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