Hosea 14:1-9
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the LORD; say to him, "Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy." I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; your faithfulness comes from me. Those who are wise understand these things; those who are discerning know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Acts 22:30-23:11
Since he wanted to find out what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them. While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, "Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God." Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?" Those standing nearby said, "Do you dare to insult God's high priest?" And Paul said, "I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.'" When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.) Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees' group stood up and contended, "We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks. That night the Lord stood near him and said, "Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome."
Luke 6:39-49
He also told them a parable: "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 106:1-18 (Part I) Confitemini Domino
1 Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.
2 Who can declare the mighty acts of the LORD or show forth all his praise?
3 Happy are those who act with justice and always do what is right!
4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favor you have for your people, and visit me with your saving help;
5 That I may see the prosperity of your elect and be glad with the gladness of your people, that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned as our forebears did; we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
7 In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works, nor remember the abundance of your love; they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 But he saved them for his Name's sake, to make his power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of those who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their oppressors; not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words and sang him songs of praise.
13 But they soon forgot his deeds and did not wait for his counsel.
14 A craving seized them in the wilderness, and they put God to the test in the desert.
15 He gave them what they asked, but sent leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire blazed up against their company, and flames devoured the wicked.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 106:19-48 (Part II) Et fecerunt vitulum
19 Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb and worshiped a molten image;
20 And so they exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, and fearful things at the Red Sea.
23 So he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath from consuming them.
24 They refused the pleasant land and would not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents and would not listen to the voice of the LORD.
26 So he lifted his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 To cast out their seed among the nations, and to scatter them throughout the lands.
28 They joined themselves to Baal-Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They provoked him to anger with their actions, and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague came to an end.
31 This was reckoned to him as righteousness throughout all generations for ever.
32 Again they provoked his anger at the waters of Meribah, so that he punished Moses because of them;
33 For they so embittered his spirit that he spoke rash words with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them.
35 They intermingled with the heathen and learned their pagan ways,
36 So that they worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to evil spirits.
38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, which they offered to the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood.
39 Thus they were polluted by their actions and went whoring in their evil deeds.
40 Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against his people and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them over to the hand of the heathen, and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were humbled under their hand.
43 Many a time did he deliver them, but they rebelled through their own devices, and were brought down in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he saw their distress, when he heard their lamentation.
45 He remembered his covenant with them and relented in accordance with his great mercy.
46 He caused them to be pitied by those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy Name and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, "Amen!" Hallelujah!
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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