Saturday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Lamentations 3:19-26

Verse 19. Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. Verse 20. Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. Verse 21. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Verse 22. Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. Verse 23. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! Verse 24. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” Verse 25. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. Verse 26. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 7:1-9

Verse 1. Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city. Verse 2. When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind. Verse 3. Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, Verse 4. and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood— over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Verse 5. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying: Verse 6. ‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’ Verse 7. But this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘It will not arise; it will not happen. Verse 8. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people. Verse 9. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

PSALM

Psalm 37:1-9

Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.

For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret— it can only bring harm.

For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

SECOND READING

Lamentations 1:7-15

Verse 7. In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall. Verse 8. Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. Verse 9. Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed! Verse 10. The adversary has seized all her treasures. For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary— those You had forbidden to enter Your assembly. Verse 11. All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised. Verse 12. Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger? Verse 13. He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long. Verse 14. My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand. Verse 15. The Lord has rejected all the mighty men in my midst; He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. Like grapes in a winepress, the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.

SECOND READING

Matthew 20:29-34

Verse 29. As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. Verse 30. And there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Verse 31. The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Verse 32. Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked. Verse 33. “Lord,” they answered, “let our eyes be opened.” Verse 34. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him.