Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Mercy and Help
64 [a]Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and (A)come down,
That the mountains would (B)quake at Your presence—
2 [b]As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the (C)nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did (D)awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old (E)they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of one who (F)waits for Him.
5 You (G)meet him who rejoices in (H)doing righteousness,
Who (I)remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, (J)You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in [c]our sins for a long time;
Yet shall we be saved?
6 For all of us have become like one who is (K)unclean,
And all our (L)righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us (M)wither like a leaf,
And our (N)wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is (O)no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself to take hold of You;
For You have (P)hidden Your face from us
And have [d]surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings.
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 (H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
3 (A)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 (B)I thank [a]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were (C)enriched in Him, in all (D)speech and (E)all knowledge, 6 just as (F)the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed [b]in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly (G)await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 (H)who will also [c]confirm you to the end, blameless on (I)the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (J)God is faithful, through whom you were (K)called into (L)fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Return of Christ
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, (A)the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 (B)and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see (C)the Son of Man (D)coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send forth the angels, and (E)will gather together His [a]elect from the four winds, (F)from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you too, when you see these things happening, [b]recognize that [c]He is near, right at the [d]door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32 (G)But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33 “Watch out, (H)stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. 34 (I)It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and [e]putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 Therefore, (J)stay alert—for you do not know when the [f]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or (K)when the rooster crows, or (L)in the morning— 36 so that he does not come suddenly and find you (M)asleep. 37 What I say to you I say to all: ‘(N)Stay alert!’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.