Wednesday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Hosea 6:11-7:16

Text not available in the Berean Standard Bible.

PSALM

Psalm 44

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.

With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.

For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.

Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.

For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.

For You save us from our enemies; You put those who hate us to shame.

In God we have boasted all day long, and Your name we will praise forever.

But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.

You have made us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have plundered us.

You have given us up as sheep to be devoured; You have scattered us among the nations.

You sell Your people for nothing; no profit do You gain from their sale.

You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us.

You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face,

at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.

All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten You or betrayed Your covenant.

Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness.

If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?

Yet for Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever.

Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and oppression?

For our soul has sunk to the dust; our bodies cling to the earth.

Rise up; be our help! Redeem us on account of Your loving devotion.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Esther 7:7-8:17

Text not available in the Berean Standard Bible.

PSALM

Psalm 55:16-23

But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.

Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

God will hear and humiliate them — the One enthroned for the ages — because they do not change and they have no fear of God.

My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.

His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

SECOND READING

Matthew 5:43-48

Verse 43. You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ Verse 44. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Verse 45. that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Verse 46. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? Verse 47. And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? Verse 48. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[’’]