Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.(A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)Selah
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when he lifts his voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.(J)
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)Selah
The Call of Abram
12 The Lord said to Abram:
Go from your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.(A)
2 I will make you into a great nation,(B)
I will bless you,(C)
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.(D)
3 I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,(E)
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed[a] through you.[b](F)
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.(G) 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem,(H) at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[c](I) I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.(J) 9 Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.
Various Situations of Life
17 Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called(A) him.[a] This is what I command in all the churches. 18 Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. 19 Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters. 20 Let each of you remain in the situation[b] in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.[c] 22 For he who is called by the Lord as a slave(B) is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought(C) at a price; do not become slaves of people. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.