Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Jeremiah 5:1-17

Verse 1. “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city. Verse 2. Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.” Verse 3. O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. Verse 4. Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God. Verse 5. I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they too, with one accord, had broken the yoke and torn off the chains. Verse 6. Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous. Verse 7. “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes. Verse 8. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife. Verse 9. Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? Verse 10. Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD. Verse 11. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” Verse 12. They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine. Verse 13. The prophets are but wind, for the word is not in them. So let their own predictions befall them. ” Verse 14. Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts says: “Because you have spoken this word, I will make My words a fire in your mouth and this people the wood it consumes. Verse 15. Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand. Verse 16. Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty men. Verse 17. They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”

PSALM

Psalm 94

O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.

Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.

How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked exult?

They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.

They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.

They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”

Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?

He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?

He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline? He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?

The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.

Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,

to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.

Surely judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

Unless the LORD had been my helper, I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.

When anxiety overwhelms me, Your consolation delights my soul.

Can a corrupt throne be Your ally — one devising mischief by decree?

They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God is my rock of refuge.

He will bring upon them their own iniquity and destroy them for their wickedness. The LORD our God will destroy them.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Amos 7:1-6

Verse 1. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up. Verse 2. And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” Verse 3. So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said. Verse 4. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. Verse 5. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” Verse 6. So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.

PSALM

Psalm 73

A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed.

They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.

Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.

From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.

So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance.

The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”

Behold, these are the wicked — always carefree as they increase their wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.

For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak this way,” then I would have betrayed Your children.

When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sight

until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.

Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.

How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

When my heart was grieved and I was pierced within,

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.

Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.

You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.

But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.

SECOND READING

1 Timothy 1:18-20

Verse 18. Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, Verse 19. holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. Verse 20. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.