Ecclesiasticus 10:1-18
A wise magistrate educates his people, and the rule of an intelligent person is well ordered. As the people's judge is, so are his officials; as the ruler of the city is, so are all its inhabitants. An undisciplined king ruins his people, but a city becomes fit to live in through the understanding of its rulers. The government of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right leader for the time. Human success is in the hand of the Lord, and it is he who confers honor upon the lawgiver. Do not get angry with your neighbor for every injury, and do not resort to acts of insolence. Arrogance is hateful to the Lord and to mortals, and injustice is outrageous to both. Sovereignty passes from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth. How can dust and ashes be proud? Even in life the human body decays. A long illness baffles the physician; the king of today will die tomorrow. For when one is dead he inherits maggots and vermin and worms. The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker. For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities, and destroys them completely. The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place. The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place. The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations of the earth. He removes some of them and destroys them, and erases the memory of them from the earth. Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.
Revelation 9:1-12
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. The first woe has passed. There are still two woes to come.
Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 37: Part I Noli aemulari
1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, and like the green grass fade away.
3 Put your trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4 Take delight in the LORD, and he shall give you your heart's desire.
5 Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.
6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light and your just dealing as the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.
8 Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9 Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
10 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait upon the LORD shall possess the land.
11 In a little while the wicked shall be no more; you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
12 But the lowly shall possess the land; they will delight in abundance of peace.
13 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash at them with their teeth.
14 The Lord laughs at the wicked, because he sees that their day will come.
15 The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow to strike down the poor and needy, to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
16 Their sword shall go through their own heart, and their bow shall be broken.
17 The little that the righteous has is better than great riches of the wicked.
18 For the power of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 37: Part II Novit Dominus
19 The LORD cares for the lives of the godly, and their inheritance shall last for ever.
20 They shall not be ashamed in bad times, and in days of famine they shall have enough.
21 As for the wicked, they shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD, like the glory of the meadows, shall vanish; they shall vanish like smoke.
22 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are generous in giving.
23 Those who are blessed by God shall possess the land, but those who are cursed by him shall be destroyed.
24 Our steps are directed by the LORD; he strengthens those in whose way he delights.
25 If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds them by the hand.
26 I have been young and now I am old, but never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.
27 The righteous are always generous in their lending, and their children shall be a blessing.
28 Turn from evil, and do good, and dwell in the land for ever.
29 For the LORD loves justice; he does not forsake his faithful ones.
30 They shall be kept safe for ever, but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.
31 The righteous shall possess the land and dwell in it for ever.
32 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and their tongue speaks what is right.
33 The law of their God is in their heart, and their footsteps shall not falter.
34 The wicked spy on the righteous and seek occasion to kill them.
35 The LORD will not abandon them to their hand, nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.
36 Wait upon the LORD and keep his way; he will raise you up to possess the land, and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
37 I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
38 I went by, and behold, they were not there; I searched for them, but they could not be found.
39 Mark those who are honest; observe the upright; for there is a future for the peaceable.
40 Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; the future of the wicked is cut off.
41 But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
42 The LORD will help them and rescue them; he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in him.
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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