Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Job 41:1-11

Verse 1. “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Verse 2. Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Verse 3. Will he beg you for mercy or speak to you softly? Verse 4. Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life? Verse 5. Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens? Verse 6. Will traders barter for him or divide him among the merchants? Verse 7. Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Verse 8. If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the battle and never repeat it! Verse 9. Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming? Verse 10. No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan. Then who is able to stand against Me? Verse 11. Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.

PSALM

Psalm 75

For the choirmaster: To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song. We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, for Your Name is near. The people declare Your wondrous works.

“When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.

When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars.

I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.

Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”

For exaltation comes neither from east nor west, nor out of the desert,

but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.

For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.

But I will proclaim Him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

1 Samuel 10:17-25

Verse 17. After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah Verse 18. and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ Verse 19. But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.” Verse 20. Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. Verse 21. Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him. Verse 22. So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” Verse 23. So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. Verse 24. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” Verse 25. Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

PSALM

Psalm 37:23-40

The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.

Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.

I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.

They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.

For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,

yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.

But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

SECOND READING

Hebrews 6:13-20

Verse 13. When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, Verse 14. saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” Verse 15. And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. Verse 16. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. Verse 17. So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Verse 18. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. Verse 19. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, Verse 20. where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.