Psalm 108:1-5

[1]   My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;   
         I will sing and make melody.   
         Awake, my soul!   
[2]   Awake, O harp and lyre!   
         I will awake the dawn.   
[3]   I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples,   
         and I will sing praises to you among the nations.   
[4]   For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,   
         and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

[5]   Be exalted, O God,above the heavens,   
         and let your glory be over all the earth.   

Luke 4:38-44

[38]After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. [39]Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

[40]As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. [41]Demons also came out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

[42]At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. [43]But he said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." [44]So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

Psalm 6

[1]   O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,  
         or discipline me in your wrath.  
[2]   Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;  
         O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.  
[3]   My soul also is struck with terror,  
         while you, O LORD -- how long?

[4]   Turn, O LORD, save my life;  
         deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.  
[5]   For in death there is no remembrance of you;  
         in Sheol who can give you praise?

[6]   I am weary with my moaning;  
         every night I flood my bed with tears;  
         I drench my couch with my weeping.  
[7]   My eyes waste away because of grief;  
         they grow weak because of all my foes.

[8]   Depart from me, all you workers of evil,  
         for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.  
[9]   The LORD has heard my supplication;  
         the LORD accepts my prayer.  
[10]  All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;  
         they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.

  

Luke 4:16-20

[16]When (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, [17]and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: [18]"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, [19]to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [20]And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21]Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

Psalm 65

[1]   Praise is due to you,  

          O God, in Zion;  

     and to you shall vows be performed,  

[2]        O you who answer prayer!  

     To you all flesh shall come.  

[3]   When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,  

          you forgive our transgressions.  

[4]   Happy are those whom you choose and bring near  

          to live in your courts.  

     We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,  

          your holy temple.

[5]   By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,  

          O God of our salvation;  

     you are the hope of all the ends of the earth  

          and of the farthest seas.  

[6]   By your strength you established the mountains;  

          you are girded with might.  

[7]   You silence the roaring of the seas,  

          the roaring of their waves,  

          the tumult of the peoples.  

[8]   Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;  

          you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

[9]   You visit the earth and water it,   

          you greatly enrich it;  

     the river of God is full of water;  

          you provide the people with grain,  

          for so you have prepared it.  

[10]  You water its furrows abundantly,  

          settling its ridges,  

     softening it with showers,  

          and blessing its growth.  

[11]  You crown the year with your bounty;  

          your wagon tracks overflow with richness.  

[12]  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,  

          the hills gird themselves with joy,  

[13]  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,  

          the valleys deck themselves with grain,  

          they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 146

[1]   Praise the LORD!  

     Praise the LORD, O my soul!  

[2]   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;  

          I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

[3]   Do not put your trust in princes,  

          in mortals, in whom there is no help.  

[4]   When their breath departs, they return to the earth;  

          on that very day their plans perish.

[5]   Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,  

          whose hope is in the LORD their God,  

[6]   who made heaven and earth,  

          the sea, and all that is in them;  

     who keeps faith forever;  

[7]        who executes justice for the oppressed;  

          who gives food to the hungry.

     The LORD sets the prisoners free;  

[8]        the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  

     The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;  

          the LORD loves the righteous.  

[9]   The LORD watches over the strangers;  

          he upholds the orphan and the widow,  

          but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

[10]  The LORD will reign forever,  

          your God, O Zion, for all generations.  

     Praise the LORD!

  

Esther 4:4-17

[4]When Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept them. [5]Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why. [6]Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, [7]and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. [8]Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people. 

[9]Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. [10]Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, [11]"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law - all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days." [12]When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, [13]Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. [14]For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this." [15]Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, [16]"Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish." [17]Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. 

  

James 1:19-27

[19]You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20]for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. [21]Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

[22]But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. [23]For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; [24]for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. [25]But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act - they will be blessed in their doing.

[26]If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. [27]Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

 

Psalm 130

[1]   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.   
[2]       Lord, hear my voice!   
    Let your ears be attentive   
         to the voice of my supplications!

[3]   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,   
         Lord, who could stand?   
[4]   But there is forgiveness with you,   
         so that you may be revered.

[5]   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,   
         and in his word I hope;   
[6]   my soul waits for the Lord   
         more than those who watch for the morning,   
         more than those who watch for the morning.

[7]   O Israel, hope in the LORD!   
         For with the LORD there is steadfast love,   
         and with him is great power to redeem.   
[8]   It is he who will redeem Israel   
         from all its iniquities.

  

Psalm 36

[1]   Transgression speaks to the wicked  

          deep in their hearts;  

     there is no fear of God  

          before their eyes.  

[2]   For they flatter themselves in their own eyes  

          that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.  

[3]   The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;  

          they have ceased to act wisely and do good.  

[4]   They plot mischief while on their beds;  

          they are set on a way that is not good;  

          they do not reject evil.

[5]   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,  

          your faithfulness to the clouds.  

[6]   Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,  

          your judgments are like the great deep;  

          you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.

[7]   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  

          All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  

[8]   They feast on the abundance of your house,  

          and you give them drink from the river of your delights.  

[9]   For with you is the fountain of life;  

          in your light we see light.

[10]  O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,  

          and your salvation to the upright of heart!  

[11]  Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,  

          or the hand of the wicked drive me away.  

[12]  There the evildoers lie prostrate;  

          they are thrust down, unable to rise.

 

John 12:20-26

[20]Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. [21]They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." [22]Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. [23]Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24]Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25]Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26]Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. 

  

Job 40:1; 41:1-11

[1]And the LORD said to Job: 

[1]"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord? [2]Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? [3]Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you? [4]Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever? [5]Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls? [6]Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? [7]Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears? [8]Lay hands on it; think of the battle; you will not do it again! [9]Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it? [10]No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it? [11]Who can confront it and be safe? - under the whole heaven, who? 

  

Job 40:1-24

[1]And the LORD said to Job: [2]"Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond."

[3]Then Job answered the LORD: [4]"See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. [5]I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further."

[6]Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: [7]"Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. [8]Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? [9]Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

[10]"Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. [11]Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them. [12]Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand. [13]Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. [14]Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give you victory.

[15]"Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you; it eats grass like an ox. [16]Its strength is in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly. [17]It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are knit together. [18]Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron.

[19]"It is the first of the great acts of God - only its Maker can approach it with the sword. [20]For the mountains yield food for it where all the wild animals play. [21]Under the lotus plants it lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh. [22]The lotus trees cover it for shade; the willows of the wadi surround it. [23]Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened; it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth. [24]Can one take it with hooks or pierce its nose with a snare?

Psalm 19

[1]   The heavens are telling the glory of God;   
         and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.   
[2]   Day to day pours forth speech,   
         and night to night declares knowledge.   
[3]   There is no speech, nor are there words;   
         their voice is not heard;   
[4]   yet their voice goes out through all the earth,   
         and their words to the end of the world.

    In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,   
[5]   which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,   
         and like a strong man runs its course with joy.   
[6]   Its rising is from the end of the heavens,   
         and its circuit to the end of them;   
         and nothing is hidden from its heat.

[7]   The law of the LORD is perfect,   
         reviving the soul;   
    the decrees of the LORD are sure,   
         making wise the simple;   
[8]   the precepts of the LORD are right,   
         rejoicing the heart;   
    the commandment of the LORD is clear,   
         enlightening the eyes;   
[9]   the fear of the LORD is pure,   
         enduring forever;   
    the ordinances of the LORD are true   
         and righteous altogether.   
[10]  More to be desired are they than gold,   
         even much fine gold;   
    sweeter also than honey,   
         and drippings of the honeycomb.

[11]  Moreover by them is your servant warned;   
         in keeping them there is great reward.   
[12]   But who can detect their errors?   
         Clear me from hidden faults.   
[13]  Keep back your servant also from the insolent;   
         do not let them have dominion over me.   
    Then I shall be blameless,   
         and innocent of great transgression.

[14]  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart   
         be acceptable to you,   
         O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

  

Job 38:1-17

[1]Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: [2]"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? [3]Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.  

[4]"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. [5]Who determined its measurements - surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? [6]On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone [7]when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 

[8]"Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb? - [9]when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, [10]and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, [11]and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'? 

[12]"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, [13]so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? [14]It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment. [15]Light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is broken. 

[16]"Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? [17]Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 

John 11:30-44

[30]Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. [31]The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32]When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33]When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. [34]He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35]Jesus began to weep. [36]So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37]But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 

[38]Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. [39]Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." [40]Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" [41]So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. [42]I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." [43]When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" [44]The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."