Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Amos 2:6–16

⁶This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. ⁷They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. ⁸They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.

⁹"I destroyed the Amorite before them, though he was tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.

¹⁰"I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led you forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. ¹¹I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men. Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD. ¹²"But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

¹³"Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain. ¹⁴The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life. ¹⁵The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life. ¹⁶Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day," declares the LORD.





Psalm 89

¹A [maskil] of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. ²I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. ³You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ⁴'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.' " [Selah] ⁵The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. ⁶For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? ⁷In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. ⁸O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. ⁹You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. ¹⁰You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. ¹¹The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. ¹²You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. ¹³Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. ¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. ¹⁵Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. ¹⁶They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. ¹⁷For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. ¹⁸Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. ²⁰I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. ²¹My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. ²²No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. ²³I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. ²⁴My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. ²⁵I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. ²⁶He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' ²⁷I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. ²⁸I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. ²⁹I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. ³⁰"If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, ³¹if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, ³²I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; ³³but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. ³⁴I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. ³⁵Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness-- and I will not lie to David-- ³⁶that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; ³⁷it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." [Selah] ³⁸But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. ³⁹You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. ⁴⁰You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. ⁴¹All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. ⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. ⁴³You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. ⁴⁴You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. ⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. [Selah] ⁴⁶How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? ⁴⁷Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men! ⁴⁸What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave? [Selah] ⁴⁹O Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David? ⁵⁰Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, ⁵¹the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. ⁵²Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.





Romans 16:17–27

¹⁷I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.

²²I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.

Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. (²⁴)

²⁵Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him-- ²⁷to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.