Wednesday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 27:1-13

Verse 1. In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent — Leviathan the coiling serpent— and He will slay the dragon of the sea. Verse 2. In that day: “Sing about a fruitful vineyard. Verse 3. I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it; Verse 4. I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground. Verse 5. Or let them lay claim to My protection; let them make peace with Me— yes, let them make peace with Me.” Verse 6. In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit. Verse 7. Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors? Was she killed like those who slayed her? Verse 8. By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows. Verse 9. Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing. Verse 10. For the fortified city lies deserted — a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. Verse 11. When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor. Verse 12. In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one. Verse 13. And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

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 25:30-38

Verse 30. So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth. Verse 31. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” Verse 32. This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” Verse 33. Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground. Verse 34. Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. Verse 35. Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. Verse 36. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture. Verse 37. The peaceful meadows have been silenced because of the LORD’s burning anger. Verse 38. He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

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

Luke 19:45-48

Verse 45. Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. Verse 46. He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ” Verse 47. Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. Verse 48. Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.