Open Word

FIRST READING

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Verse 7. You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. Verse 8. For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day long. Verse 9. If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. Verse 10. For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.” Verse 11. But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten. Verse 12. O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause. Verse 13. Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

PSALM

Psalm 62:5-12

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.

Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

Place no trust in extortion or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,

and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.

SECOND READING

2 Peter 3:1-7

Verse 1. Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking Verse 2. by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. Verse 3. Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. Verse 4. “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.” Verse 5. But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water, Verse 6. through which the world of that time perished in the flood. Verse 7. And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.