Open Word

FIRST READING

Ezekiel 39:7-8, 21-29

Verse 7. So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Verse 8. Yes, it is coming, and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD. This is the day of which I have spoken. Verse 21. I will display My glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I execute and the hand that I lay upon them. Verse 22. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. Verse 23. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity, because they were unfaithful to Me. So I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword. Verse 24. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid My face from them. Verse 25. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name. Verse 26. They will forget their disgrace and all the treachery they committed against Me, when they dwell securely in their land, with no one to frighten them. Verse 27. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them out of the lands of their enemies, I will show My holiness in them in the sight of many nations. Verse 28. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, when I regather them to their own land, not leaving any of them behind after their exile among the nations. Verse 29. And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”

PSALM

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.

Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.

There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.

When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.

When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works.

He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smolder.

I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!

SECOND READING

Romans 8:26-27

Verse 26. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. Verse 27. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.