Daily Readings for Monday, December 9, 2024

Morning Psalm 122

1   I was glad when they said to me,
          “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
2   Our feet are standing
          within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3   Jerusalem — built as a city
          that is bound firmly together.
4   To it the tribes go up,
          the tribes of the LORD,
    as was decreed for Israel,
          to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5   For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
          the thrones of the house of David.

6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
          “May they prosper who love you.
7   Peace be within your walls,
          and security within your towers.”
8   For the sake of my relatives and friends
          I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
          I will seek your good.

Morning Psalm 145

1   I will extol you, my God and King,
          and bless your name forever and ever.
2   Every day I will bless you,
          and praise your name forever and ever.
3   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
          his greatness is unsearchable.

4   One generation shall laud your works to another,
          and shall declare your mighty acts.
5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
          and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
          and I will declare your greatness.
7   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
          and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8   The Lord is gracious and merciful,
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9   The Lord is good to all,
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.

10  All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
          and all your faithful shall bless you.
11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
          and tell of your power,
12  to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
          and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
          and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

     The Lord is faithful in all his words,
          and gracious in all his deeds.
14  The Lord upholds all who are falling,
          and raises up all who are bowed down.
15  The eyes of all look to you,
          and you give them their food in due season.
16  You open your hand,
          satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17  The Lord is just in all his ways,
          and kind in all his doings.
18  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
          to all who call on him in truth.
19  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
          he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20  The Lord watches over all who love him,
          but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
          and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

8Ah, you who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
    and you are left to live alone
    in the midst of the land!
9The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
    large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
    and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.

11Ah, you who rise early in the morning
    in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
    to be inflamed by wine,
12whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
    tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
    or see the work of his hands!
13Therefore my people go into exile without knowledge;
    their nobles are dying of hunger,
    and their multitude is parched with thirst.

14Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
    and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down,
    her throng and all who exult in her.
15People are bowed down, everyone is brought low,
    and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
16But the LORD of hosts is exalted by justice,
    and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.
17Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture,
fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins.

1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

20"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; 22for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. 23Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; 24they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Evening Psalm 40

1   I waited patiently for the LORD;
          he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2   He drew me up from the desolate pit,
          out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
          making my steps secure.
3   He put a new song in my mouth,
          a song of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
          and put their trust in the LORD.

4   Happy are those who make
          the LORD their trust,
    who do not turn to the proud,
          to those who go astray after false gods.
5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
          your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
          none can compare with you.
    Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
          they would be more than can be counted.

6   Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
          but you have given me an open ear.
    Burnt offering and sin offering
          you have not required.
7   Then I said, “Here I am;
          in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8   I delight to do your will, O my God;
          your law is within my heart.”

9   I have told the glad news of deliverance
          in the great congregation;
    see, I have not restrained my lips,
          as you know, O LORD.
10  I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
          I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
    I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          from the great congregation.

11  Do not, O LORD, withhold
          your mercy from me;
    let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          keep me safe forever.
12  For evils have encompassed me
          without number;
    my iniquities have overtaken me,
          until I cannot see;
    they are more than the hairs of my head,
          and my heart fails me.

13  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
          O LORD, make haste to help me.
14  Let all those be put to shame and confusion
          who seek to snatch away my life;
    let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
          who desire my hurt.
15  Let those be appalled because of their shame
          who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16  But may all who seek you
          rejoice and be glad in you;
    may those who love your salvation
          say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17  As for me, I am poor and needy,
          but the Lord takes thought for me.
    You are my help and my deliverer;
          do not delay, O my God.

Evening Psalm 67

1May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

6The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.