Lectionary Calendar
Monday, September 16th, 2024
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

December 17 - Old & New Testament
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Psalms 84,90,91

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Psalm 84

Longing for God's House

For the choir director: on the Gittith.(a) A psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is Your dwelling place,
Lord of Hosts.(b)
2 I long and yearn
for the courts of the Lord ;
my heart and flesh cry out for[a] the living God.(c)

3 Even a sparrow finds a home,
and a swallow, a nest for herself
where she places her young—
near Your altars, Lord of Hosts,
my King and my God.(d)
4 How happy are those who reside in Your house,
who praise You continually.(e) Selah

5 Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.(f)
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[b]
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.[c](g)
7 They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.(h)

8  Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.(i) Selah
9 Consider our shield,[d] God;(j)
look on the face of Your anointed one.(k)

10 Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.(l)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield.(m)
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.(n)
12 Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!(o)

Psalm 85

Restoration of Favor

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

1  Lord , You showed favor to Your land;(a)
You restored Jacob's prosperity.[a](b)
2 You took away Your people's guilt;
You covered all their sin.(c) Selah
3 You withdrew all Your fury;
You turned from Your burning anger.(d)

4 Return to us, God of our salvation,
and abandon Your displeasure with us.(e)
5 Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger for all generations?(f)
6 Will You not revive us again
so that Your people may rejoice in You?(g)
7 Show us Your faithful love, Lord ,
and give us Your salvation.(h)

8 I will listen to what God will say;
surely the Lord will declare peace
to His people, His godly ones,
and not let them go back to foolish ways.(i)
9 His salvation is very near those who fear Him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.(j)

10 Faithful love and truth will join together;
righteousness and peace will embrace.(k)
11 Truth will spring up from the earth,
and righteousness will look down from heaven.(l)
12 Also, the Lord will provide what is good,
and our land will yield its crops.(m)
13 Righteousness will go before Him
to prepare the way for His steps.(n)

Psalm 86

Lament and Petition

A Davidic prayer.

1 Listen, Lord , and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.(a)
2 Protect my life, for I am faithful.(b)
You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.(c)
3 Be gracious to me, Lord,
for I call to You all day long.(d)
4 Bring joy to Your servant's life,
because I turn to You, Lord.(e)

5 For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,(f)
rich in faithful love to all who call on You.(g)
6  Lord , hear my prayer;
listen to my plea for mercy.(h)
7 I call on You in the day of my distress,
for You will answer me.(i)

8 Lord, there is no one like You among the gods,
and there are no works like Yours.(j)
9 All the nations You have made
will come and bow down before You, Lord,
and will honor Your name.(k)
10 For You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God.(l)

11 Teach me Your way, Yahweh,
and I will live by Your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.(m)
12 I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God,
and will honor Your name forever.(n)
13 For Your faithful love for me is great,
and You deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.(o)

14 God, arrogant people have attacked me;
a gang of ruthless men seeks my life.
They have no regard for You.(p)
15 But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.(q)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me.
Give Your strength to Your servant;
save the son of Your female servant.(r)
17 Show me a sign of Your goodness;
my enemies will see and be put to shame
because You, Lord , have helped and comforted me.(s)

Psalm 87

Zion, the City of God

A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.

1 His foundation is on the holy mountains.(a)
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.(b)
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.(c) Selah

4 "I will mention those who know Me:
Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush—
each one was born there."(d)
5 And it will be said of Zion,
"This one and that one were born in her."
The Most High Himself will establish her.(e)
6 When He registers the peoples,
the Lord will record,
"This one was born there."(f) Selah
7 Singers and dancers alike will say,
"My whole source of joy is[a] in you."(g)

Psalm 88

A Cry of Desperation

A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.(a)

1  Lord , God of my salvation,
I cry out before You day and night.(b)
2 May my prayer reach Your presence;
listen to my cry.(c)

3 For I have had enough troubles,
and my life is near Sheol.(d)
4 I am counted among those going down to the Pit.(e)
I am like a man without strength,(f)
5 abandoned[a] among the dead.
I am like the slain lying in the grave,(g)
whom You no longer remember,
and who are cut off from Your care.[b](h)

6 You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.(i)
7 Your wrath weighs heavily on me;(j)
You have overwhelmed me with all Your waves.(k) Selah
8 You have distanced my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them.(l)
I am shut in and cannot go out.
9 My eyes are worn out from crying.(m)
Lord , I cry out to You all day long;(n)
I spread out my hands to You.(o)

10 Do You work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?(p) Selah
11 Will Your faithful love be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon?(q)
12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness
or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?(r)

13 But I call to You for help, Lord ;
in the morning my prayer meets You.(s)
14  Lord , why do You reject me?(t)
Why do You hide Your face from me?(u)
15 From my youth,
I have been afflicted and near death.
I suffer Your horrors; I am desperate.(v)
16 Your wrath sweeps over me;
Your terrors destroy me.(w)
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they close in on me from every side.(x)
18 You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;
darkness is my only friend.[c](y)

Psalm 89

Perplexity about God's Promises

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.(a)

1 I will sing about the Lord 's faithful love forever;(b)
I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations
with my mouth.(c)
2 For I will declare,
"Faithful love is built up forever;
You establish Your faithfulness in the heavens."(d)

3 The Lord said,
"I have made a covenant with My chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David My servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.'"(e) Selah

5  Lord , the heavens praise Your wonders(f)
Your faithfulness also—
in the assembly of the holy ones.(g)
6 For who in the skies can compare with the Lord ?
Who among the heavenly beings[a] is like the Lord ?(h)
7 God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
more awe-inspiring than[b] all who surround Him.(i)
8  Lord God of Hosts,
who is strong like You, Lord ?(j)
Your faithfulness surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging sea;
when its waves surge, You still them.(k)
10 You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;(l)
You scattered Your enemies with Your powerful arm.(m)
11 The heavens are Yours; the earth also is Yours.
The world and everything in it—You founded them.(n)
12 North and south—You created them.(o)
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.(p)
13 You have a mighty arm;
Your hand is powerful;
Your right hand is lifted high.(q)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of Your throne;(r)
faithful love and truth go before You.(s)
15 Happy are the people who know the joyful shout;(t)
Yahweh, they walk in the light of Your presence.(u)
16 They rejoice in Your name all day long,
and they are exalted by Your righteousness.(v)
17 For You are their magnificent strength;(w)
by Your favor our horn is exalted.(x)
18 Surely our shield[c] belongs to the Lord ,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(y)

19 You once spoke in a vision to Your loyal ones
and said: "I have granted help to a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen[d] from the people.(z)
20 I have found David My servant;
I have anointed him with My sacred oil.(aa)
21 My hand will always be with him,
and My arm will strengthen him.(ab)
22 The enemy will not afflict[e] him;
no wicked man will oppress him.(ac)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike those who hate him.(ad)
24 My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through My name
his horn will be exalted.(ae)
25 I will extend his power to the sea
and his right hand to the rivers.(af)
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,(ag)
my God, the rock of my salvation.'(ah)
27 I will also make him My firstborn,
greatest of the kings of the earth.(ai)
28 I will always preserve My faithful love for him,
and My covenant with him will endure.(aj)
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as heaven lasts.[f](ak)
30 If his sons forsake My instruction
and do not live by My ordinances,(al)
31 if they dishonor My statutes
and do not keep My commands,(am)
32 then I will call their rebellion
to account with the rod,
their sin with blows.(an)
33 But I will not withdraw
My faithful love from him
or betray My faithfulness.(ao)
34 I will not violate My covenant
or change what My lips have said.(ap)
35 Once and for all
I have sworn an oath by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.(aq)
36 His offspring will continue forever,
his throne like the sun before Me,(ar)
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky."(as) Selah

38 But You have spurned and rejected him;
You have become enraged with Your anointed.(at)
39 You have repudiated the covenant with Your servant;
You have completely dishonored his crown.[g](au)
40 You have broken down all his walls;
You have reduced his fortified cities to ruins.(av)
41 All who pass by plunder him;(aw)
he has become an object of ridicule
to his neighbors.(ax)
42 You have lifted high the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.(ay)
43 You have also turned back his sharp sword
and have not let him stand in battle.(az)
44 You have made his splendor[h] cease
and have overturned his throne.(ba)
45 You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.(bb) Selah

46 How long, Lord ? Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your anger keep burning like fire?(bc)
47 Remember how short my life is.
Have You created everyone for nothing?(bd)
48 What man can live and never see death?
Who can save himself from the power of Sheol?(be) Selah
49 Lord, where are the former acts of Your faithful love
that You swore to David in Your faithfulness?(bf)
50 Remember, Lord, the ridicule against Your servants—
in my heart I carry abuse from all the peoples—
51 how Your enemies have ridiculed, Lord ,
how they have ridiculed every step of Your anointed.(bg)

52 May the Lord be praised forever.
Amen and amen.(bh)

Psalm 90

Eternal God and Mortal Man

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, You have been our refuge[a]
in every generation.(a)
2 Before the mountains were born,
before You gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, You are God.(b)

3 You return mankind to the dust,
saying, "Return, descendants of Adam."(c)
4 For in Your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.(d)
5 You end their lives;[b] they sleep.(e)
They are like grass that grows in the morning—
6 in the morning it sprouts and grows;
by evening it withers and dries up.(f)

7 For we are consumed by Your anger;
we are terrified by Your wrath.(g)
8 You have set our unjust ways before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.(h)
9 For all our days ebb away under Your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.(i)
10 Our lives last[c] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are[d] struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.(j)
11 Who understands the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.(k)
12 Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.[e](l)

13  Lord —how long?
Turn and have compassion on Your servants.(m)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.(n)
15 Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.(o)
16 Let Your work be seen by Your servants,
and Your splendor by their children.(p)
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!(q)

Psalm 91

The Protection of the Most High

1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.(a)

2 I will say[a] to the Lord , "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."(b)

3 He Himself will deliver you from the hunter's net,(c)
from the destructive plague.
4 He will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.(d)
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.(e)
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
the arrow that flies by day,(f)
6 the plague that stalks in darkness,
or the pestilence that ravages at noon.(g)
7 Though a thousand fall at your side
and ten thousand at your right hand,
the pestilence will not reach you.(h)
8 You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.(i)

9 Because you have made the Lord —my refuge,(j)
the Most High—your dwelling place,(k)
10 no harm will come to you;
no plague will come near your tent.(l)
11 For He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you in all your ways.(m)
12 They will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(n)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the young lion and the serpent.(o)

14 Because he is lovingly devoted to Me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows My name.(p)
15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.(q)
16 I will satisfy him with a long life(r)
and show him My salvation.(s)

Revelation 9

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Chapter 9

The Fifth Trumpet

1 The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth.(a) The key to the shaft of the abyss(b) was given to him. 2 He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great[a] furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power[b] was given to them(c) like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God's seal on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle.(d) Something like gold crowns was on their heads; their faces were like men's faces; 8 they had hair like women's hair; their teeth were like lions' teeth;(e) 9 they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses rushing into battle; 10 and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power[c] to harm people for five months. 11 They had as their king[d] the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,[e] and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.[f] 12 The first woe has passed. There are still two more woes to come after this.

The Sixth Trumpet

13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet. From the four[g] horns of the gold altar(f) that is before God, I heard a voice 14 say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of the human race. 16 The number of mounted troops was 200 million;[h] I heard their number. 17 This is how I saw the horses in my vision: The horsemen had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues—by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads, and they inflict injury with them.

20 The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons(g) and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk.(h) 21 And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries,[i] their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

 
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