Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

1 Samuel 6:1-18

Verse 1. When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months, Verse 2. the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.” Verse 3. They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.” Verse 4. “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Verse 5. Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land. Verse 6. Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way? Verse 7. Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Verse 8. Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way, Verse 9. but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.” Verse 10. So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves. Verse 11. Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors. Verse 12. And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh. Verse 13. Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight. Verse 14. The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. Verse 15. And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD. Verse 16. And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day. Verse 17. As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. Verse 18. The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers — the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

PSALM

Psalm 138

Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises.

I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.

On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.

All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.

They will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.

Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.

The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever — do not abandon the works of Your hands.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Genesis 2:4b-14

Verse 4. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them. Verse 5. Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. Verse 6. But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Verse 7. Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Verse 8. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. Verse 9. Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Verse 10. Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters: Verse 11. The name of the first river is the Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. Verse 12. And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there. Verse 13. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush. Verse 14. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

PSALM

Psalm 130

A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!

O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance.

And He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.

SECOND READING

Luke 8:4-15

Verse 4. While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told them this parable: Verse 5. “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it. Verse 6. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture. Verse 7. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings. Verse 8. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop — a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Verse 9. Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant. Verse 10. He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ Verse 11. Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Verse 12. The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Verse 13. The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away. Verse 14. The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature. Verse 15. But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.