Job 29:1-1, 31:1-23
Job again took up his discourse and said: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high? Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity? Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps? "If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit-- let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!-- if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, and if any spot has clung to my hands; then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out. "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door; then let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her. For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense; for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest. "If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me; what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb? "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it-- for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow-- if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering, whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate; then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.
Acts 15:1-11
Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, "It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses." The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers. And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."
John 11:17-29
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him.
Morning Psalms
Psalm 50 Deus deorum
1 The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory.
3 Our God will come and will not keep silence; before him there is a consuming flame, and round about him a raging storm.
4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above to witness the judgment of his people.
5 Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice.
6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; for God himself is judge.
7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak: "O Israel, I will bear witness against you; for I am God, your God.
8 I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; your offerings are always before me.
9 I will take no bull-calf from your stalls, nor he-goats out of your pens;
10 For all the beasts of the forest are mine, the herds in their thousands upon the hills.
11 I know every bird in the sky, and the creatures of the fields are in my sight.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.
13 Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make good your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me."
16 But to the wicked God says: "Why do you recite my statutes, and take my covenant upon your lips;
17 Since you refuse discipline, and toss my words behind your back?
18 When you see a thief, you make him your friend, and you cast in your lot with adulterers.
19 You have loosed your lips for evil, and harnessed your tongue to a lie.
20 You are always speaking evil of your brother and slandering your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept still, and you thought that I am like you."
22 I have made my accusation; I have put my case in order before your eyes.
23 Consider this well, you who forget God, lest I rend you and there be none to deliver you.
24 Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God."
Evening Psalms
Psalm 59 Eripe me de inimicis
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from evildoers and save me from those who thirst for my blood.
3 See how they lie in wait for my life, how the mighty gather together against me; not for any offense or fault of mine, O LORD.
4 Not because of any guilt of mine they run and prepare themselves for battle.
5 Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see; for you, LORD God of hosts, are Israel's God.
6 Awake, and punish all the ungodly; show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.
7 They go to and fro in the evening; they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
8 Behold, they boast with their mouths, and taunts are on their lips; "For who, they say, will hear us?"
9 But you, O LORD, you laugh at them; you laugh all the ungodly to scorn.
10 My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength; for you, O God, are my stronghold.
11 My merciful God comes to meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
12 Slay them, O God, lest my people forget; send them reeling by your might and put them down, O Lord our shield.
13 For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, for the cursing and lies that they utter, let them be caught in their pride.
14 Make an end of them in your wrath; make an end of them, and they shall be no more.
15 Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob, and to the ends of the earth.
16 They go to and fro in the evening; they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
17 They forage for food, and if they are not filled, they howl.
18 For my part, I will sing of your strength; I will celebrate your love in the morning;
19 For you have become my stronghold, a refuge in the day of my trouble.
20 To you, O my Strength, will I sing; for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.
Psalm 60 Deus, repulisti nos
1 O God, you have cast us off and broken us; you have been angry; oh, take us back to you again.
2 You have shaken the earth and split it open; repair the cracks in it, for it totters.
3 You have made your people know hardship; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, to be a refuge from the power of the bow.
5 Save us by your right hand and answer us, that those who are dear to you may be delivered.
6 God spoke from his holy place and said: "I will exult and parcel out Shechem; I will divide the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my scepter.
8 Moab is my wash-basin, on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it, and over Philistia will I shout in triumph."
9 Who will lead me into the strong city? who will bring me to Edom?
10 Have you not cast us off, O God? you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.
11 Grant us your help against the enemy, for vain is the help of man.
12 With God we will do valiant deeds, and he shall tread our enemies under foot.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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