Monday, October 28, 2019

Job 31:16–40

¹⁶"If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, ¹⁷if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless-- ¹⁸but from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my birth I guided the widow-- ¹⁹if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, ²⁰and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep, ²¹if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, ²²then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. ²³For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

²⁴"If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,' ²⁵if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, ²⁶if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, ²⁸then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

²⁹"If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him-- ³⁰I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against his life-- ³¹if the men of my household have never said, 'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?'-- ³²but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler-- ³³if I have concealed my sin as men do, by hiding my guilt in my heart ³⁴because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—

³⁵("Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense--let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing. ³⁶Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown. ³⁷I would give him an account of my every step; like a prince I would approach him.)—

³⁸"if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, ³⁹if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, ⁴⁰then let briers come up instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are ended.

Psalm 112

¹Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. ²His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. ³Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. ⁴Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. ⁵Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. ⁶Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. ⁷He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. ⁹He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. ¹⁰The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

Luke 18:1–14

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

⁴"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."