Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 5:8-23

Verse 8. Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land. Verse 9. I heard the LORD of Hosts declare: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great mansions left unoccupied. Verse 10. For ten acres of vineyard will yield but a bath of wine, and a homer of seed only an ephah of grain. ” Verse 11. Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. Verse 12. At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands. Verse 13. Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst. Verse 14. Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers! Verse 15. So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled; the arrogant will lower their eyes. Verse 16. But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. Verse 17. Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy. Verse 18. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, Verse 19. to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!” Verse 20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter. Verse 21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Verse 22. Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink, Verse 23. who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

PSALM

Psalm 74

A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?

Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance — Mount Zion, where You dwell.

Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.

Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,

like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees

and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.

They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.

They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.

There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.

How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?

Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!

Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;

You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.

You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.

Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Jeremiah 23:30-40

Verse 30. “Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.” Verse 31. “Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’” Verse 32. “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD. Verse 33. “Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’ Verse 34. As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. Verse 35. This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ Verse 36. But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God. Verse 37. Thus you are to say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ Verse 38. But if you claim, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ and I specifically told you not to make this claim, Verse 39. therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. Verse 40. And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”

PSALM

Psalm 32

Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat.

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.

You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

SECOND READING

1 John 4:1-6

Verse 1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. Verse 2. By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, Verse 3. and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. Verse 4. You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Verse 5. They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them. Verse 6. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.