Psalm 89:1-18 and Luke 13:10–17

PSALM 89:1–18 
1   I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever;
          with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2   I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
          your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

3   You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
          I have sworn to my servant David:
4   ‘I will establish your descendants forever,
          and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

5   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
          your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
          Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7   a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
          great and awesome above all that are around him?
8   O LORD God of hosts,
          who is as mighty as you, O LORD?
          Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9   You rule the raging of the sea;
          when its waves rise, you still them.
10  You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
          you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11  The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
          the world and all that is in it — you have founded them.
12  The north and the south — you created them;
          Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13  You have a mighty arm;
          strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
          steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15  Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
          who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
16  they exult in your name all day long,
          and extol your righteousness.
17  For you are the glory of their strength;
          by your favor our horn is exalted.
18  For our shield belongs to the LORD,
          our king to the Holy One of Israel.

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LUKE 13:10–17

10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." 15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. 

Psalm 42 and Psalm 133

PSALM 42
1   As a deer longs for flowing streams,
          so my soul longs for you, O God.
2   My soul thirsts for God,
          for the living God.
     When shall I come and behold
          the face of God?
3   My tears have been my food
          day and night,
     while people say to me continually,
          “Where is your God?”

4   These things I remember,
          as I pour out my soul:
     how I went with the throng,
          and led them in procession to the house of God,
     with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
          a multitude keeping festival.
5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,
          and why are you disquieted within me?
     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
          my help 6 and my God.

     My soul is cast down within me;
          therefore I remember you
     from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
          from Mount Mizar.
7   Deep calls to deep
          at the thunder of your cataracts;
     all your waves and your billows
          have gone over me.
8   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
          and at night his song is with me,
          a prayer to the God of my life.

9   I say to God, my rock,
          “Why have you forgotten me?
     Why must I walk about mournfully
          because the enemy oppresses me?”
10  As with a deadly wound in my body,
          my adversaries taunt me,
     while they say to me continually,
          “Where is your God?”

11  Why are you cast down, O my soul,
          and why are you disquieted within me?
     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
          my help and my God.

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PSALM 133
1   How very good and pleasant it is
          when kindred live together in unity!
2   It is like the precious oil on the head,
          running down upon the beard,
     on the beard of Aaron,
          running down over the collar of his robes.
3   It is like the dew of Hermon,
          which falls on the mountains of Zion.
     For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
          life forevermore.

Psalm 5 and Psalm 82

PSALM 5

¹   Give ear to my words, O LORD; 
          give heed to my sighing. 
²   Listen to the sound of my cry, 
          my King and my God, 
          for to you I pray. 
³   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; 
          in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

⁴   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; 
          evil will not sojourn with you. 
⁵   The boastful will not stand before your eyes; 
          you hate all evildoers. 
⁶   You destroy those who speak lies; 
          the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.

⁷   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, 
          will enter your house, 
     I will bow down toward your holy temple 
          in awe of you. 
⁸   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness 
          because of my enemies; 
          make your way straight before me.

⁹   For there is no truth in their mouths; 
          their hearts are destruction; 
     their throats are open graves; 
          they flatter with their tongues. 
¹⁰  Make them bear their guilt, O God; 
          let them fall by their own counsels; 
     because of their many transgressions cast them out, 
          for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹  But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; 
          let them ever sing for joy. 
     Spread your protection over them, 
          so that those who love your name may exult in you. 
¹²  For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
          you cover them with favor as with a shield.

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PSALM 82

¹   God has taken his place in the divine council; 
          in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 
²   “How long will you judge unjustly 
          and show partiality to the wicked?

³   Give justice to the weak and the orphan; 
          maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 
⁴   Rescue the weak and the needy; 
          deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 

⁵   They have neither knowledge nor understanding, 
          they walk around in darkness; 
          all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶   I say, “You are gods, 
          children of the Most High, all of you; 
⁷   nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, 
          and fall like any prince.”

⁸   Rise up, O God, judge the earth; 
          for all the nations belong to you!

Psalm 84 and LUKE 12:13–31

PSALM 84

¹   How lovely is your dwelling place, 
          O LORD of hosts! 
²   My soul longs, indeed it faints 
          for the courts of the LORD; 
     my heart and my flesh sing for joy 
          to the living God.

³   Even the sparrow finds a home, 
          and the swallow a nest for herself, 
          where she may lay her young, 
     at your altars, O LORD of hosts, 
          my King and my God. 
⁴   Happy are those who live in your house, 
          ever singing your praise. Selah

⁵   Happy are those whose strength is in you, 
          in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 
⁶   As they go through the valley of Baca 
          they make it a place of springs; 
          the early rain also covers it with pools. 
⁷   They go from strength to strength; 
          the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

⁸   O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; 
          give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 
⁹   Behold our shield, O God; 
          look on the face of your anointed.

¹⁰  For a day in your courts is better 
          than a thousand elsewhere. 
     I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 
          than live in the tents of wickedness. 
¹¹  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; 
          he bestows favor and honor. 
     No good thing does the LORD withhold 
          from those who walk uprightly. 
¹²  O LORD of hosts, 
          happy is everyone who trusts in you.

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LUKE 12:13–31

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." ¹⁴But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" ¹⁵And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." ¹⁶Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' ¹⁸Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.¹⁹And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' ²⁰But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' ²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

 

²²He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you - you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Psalm 116 and Nahum 1:15-2:12

PSALM 116
1   I love the LORD, because he has heard
          my voice and my supplications.
2   Because he inclined his ear to me,
          therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3   The snares of death encompassed me;
          the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
          I suffered distress and anguish.
4   Then I called on the name of the LORD:
          “O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
          our God is merciful.
6   The LORD protects the simple;
          when I was brought low, he saved me.
7   Return, O my soul, to your rest,
          for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8   For you have delivered my soul from death,
          my eyes from tears,
          my feet from stumbling.
9   I walk before the LORD
          in the land of the living.
10  I kept my faith, even when I said,
          “I am greatly afflicted”;
11  I said in my consternation,
          “Everyone is a liar.”

12  What shall I return to the LORD
          for all his bounty to me?
13   I will lift up the cup of salvation
          and call on the name of the LORD,
14  I will pay my vows to the LORD
          in the presence of all his people.
15  Precious in the sight of the LORD
          is the death of his faithful ones.
16  O LORD, I am your servant;
          I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
          You have loosed my bonds.
17  I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
          and call on the name of the LORD.
18  I will pay my vows to the LORD
          in the presence of all his people,
19  in the courts of the house of the LORD,
          in your midst, O Jerusalem.
     Praise the LORD!

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NAHUM 1:15–2:12
1:15 Look! On the mountains the feet of one
     who brings good tidings,
     who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, O Judah,
     fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the wicked invade you;
     they are utterly cut off.
2:1 A shatterer has come up against you.
     Guard the ramparts;
     watch the road;
gird your loins;
     collect all your strength.

2 (For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob,
     as well as the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
     and ruined their branches.)

3 The shields of his warriors are red;
     his soldiers are clothed in crimson.
The metal on the chariots flashes
     on the day when he musters them;
     the chargers prance.
4 The chariots race madly through the streets,
     they rush to and fro through the squares;
their appearance is like torches,
     they dart like lightning.
5 He calls his officers;
     they stumble as they come forward;
they hasten to the wall,
     and the mantelet is set up.
6 The river gates are opened,
     the palace trembles.
7 It is decreed that the city be exiled,
     its slave women led away,
moaning like doves
     and beating their breasts.
8 Nineveh is like a pool
     whose waters run away.
"Halt! Halt!" —
     but no one turns back.
9 "Plunder the silver,
     plunder the gold!
There is no end of treasure!
     An abundance of every precious thing!"

10 Devastation, desolation, and destruction!
     Hearts faint and knees tremble,
all loins quake,
     all faces grow pale!
11 What became of the lions’ den,
     the cave of the young lions,
where the lion goes,
     and the lion’s cubs, with no one to disturb them?
12 The lion has torn enough for his whelps
     and strangled prey for his lionesses;
he has filled his caves with prey

     and his dens with torn flesh.

Psalm 96 and Luke 11:37-52

Psalm 96

1   O sing to the LORD a new song;
          sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2   Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
          tell of his salvation from day to day.
3   Declare his glory among the nations,
          his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
          he is to be revered above all gods.
5   For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
          but the LORD made the heavens.
6   Honor and majesty are before him;
          strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
          bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9   Worship the LORD in holy splendor;
          tremble before him, all the earth.

10  Say among the nations, “The LORD is king!
          The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
          He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
          let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12       let the field exult, and everything in it.
     Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13       before the LORD; for he is coming,
          for he is coming to judge the earth.
     He will judge the world with righteousness,
          and the peoples with his truth.

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LUKE 11:37–52

37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. 38 The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. 

 

42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it." 

 

45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too." 46 and he said, "Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' 50 so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."

Psalm 62 and Jonah 1:17–2:10

PSALM 62

1   For God alone my soul waits in silence;
          from him comes my salvation.
2   He alone is my rock and my salvation,
          my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

3   How long will you assail a person,
          will you batter your victim, all of you,
          as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4   Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
          They take pleasure in falsehood;
     they bless with their mouths,
          but inwardly they curse. Selah

5   For God alone my soul waits in silence,
          for my hope is from him.
6   He alone is my rock and my salvation,
          my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7   On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
          my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

8   Trust in him at all times, O people;
          pour out your heart before him;
          God is a refuge for us. Selah

9   Those of low estate are but a breath,
          those of high estate are a delusion;
     in the balances they go up;
          they are together lighter than a breath.
10  Put no confidence in extortion,
          and set no vain hopes on robbery;
          if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

11  Once God has spoken;
          twice have I heard this:
     that power belongs to God,
12       and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
     For you repay to all
          according to their work.

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JONAH 1:17–2:10

1:17 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, 

"I called to the Lord out of my distress, 

     and he answered me; 

out of the belly of Sheol I cried, 

     and you heard my voice.

3 You cast me into the deep, 

     into the heart of the seas, 

     and the flood surrounded me; 

all your waves and your billows 

     passed over me. 

4 Then I said, 'I am driven away 

     from your sight; 

how shall I look again 

     upon your holy temple?' 

5 The waters closed in over me; 

     the deep surrounded me; 

weeds were wrapped around my head 

6     at the roots of the mountains. 

I went down to the land 

     whose bars closed upon me for ever; 

yet you brought up my life from the Pit, 

     O Lord my God. 

7 As my life was ebbing away, 

     I remembered the Lord; 

and my prayer came to you, 

     into your holy temple. 

8 Those who worship vain idols 

     forsake their true loyalty. 

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving 

     will sacrifice to you; 

what I have vowed I will pay. 

     Deliverance belongs to the Lord!" 

10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.