Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 11
For the music leader. Of David.
11 I have taken refuge in the Lord.
So how can you say to me,[a]
“Flee to the hills like a bird
2 because the wicked
have already bent their bows;
they’ve already strung their arrows;
they are ready to secretly shoot
those whose heart is right”?
3 When the very bottom of things falls out,
what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?
4 But the Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord! His throne is in heaven.
His eyes see—
his vision examines all of humanity.
5 The Lord examines
both the righteous and the wicked;
his very being[b] hates anyone who loves violence.
6 God will rain fiery coals and sulfur on the wicked;
their cups will be filled
with nothing but a scorching hot wind
7 because the Lord is righteous!
He loves righteous deeds.
Those whose heart is right will see God’s face.[c]
The Lord’s mountain
2 This is what Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of the mountains.
It will be lifted above the hills;
peoples will stream to it.
3 Many nations will go and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of Jacob’s God
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in God’s paths.”
Instruction will come from Zion;
the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.
4 God will judge between the nations,
and settle disputes of mighty nations.
Then they will beat their swords into iron plows
and their spears into pruning tools.
Nation will not take up sword against nation;
they will no longer learn how to make war.
Description of faith
11 Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. 2 The elders in the past were approved because they showed faith.
Acts of faith by God’s people
3 By faith we understand that the universe has been created by a word from God so that the visible came into existence from the invisible.
4 By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, which showed that he was righteous, since God gave approval to him for his gift. Though he died, he’s still speaking through faith.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he didn’t see death, and he wasn’t found because God took him up.[a] He was given approval for having pleased God before he was taken up. 6 It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him.
7 By faith Noah responded with godly fear when he was warned about events he hadn’t seen yet. He built an ark to deliver his household. With his faith, he criticized the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes from faith.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible