The First of May - Family Reading.

Numbers chapter 8.

The Seven Lamps

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. 3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. 4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

The Cleansing of the Levites

5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. 9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: 10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. 12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. 13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
      14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. 16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. 17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. 18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
      20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them. 21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

Retirement of the Levites

23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: 26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

Psalm 44.

Come to Our Help

   TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN FOR THE SONS OF KORAH, MASCHIL

1         We have heard with our ears, O God,
              our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days,
              in the times of old.
2         How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand,
              and plantedst them;
              how thou didst afflict the people,
              and cast them out.
3         For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,
              neither did their own arm save them:
              but thy right hand, and thine arm,
          and the light of thy countenance,
              because thou hadst a favour unto them.

4         Thou art my King, O God:
              command deliverances for Jacob.
5         Through thee will we push down our enemies:
              through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
6         For I will not trust in my bow,
              neither shall my sword save me.
7         But thou hast saved us from our enemies,
              and hast put them to shame that hated us.
8         In God we boast all the day long,
              and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

9         But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame;
              and goest not forth with our armies.
10       Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy:
              and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
11       Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat;
              and hast scattered us among the heathen.
12       Thou sellest thy people for nought,
              and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
13       Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours,
              a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
14       Thou makest us a byword among the heathen,
              a shaking of the head among the people.
15       My confusion is continually before me,
              and the shame of my face hath covered me,
16       For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth;
              by reason of the enemy and avenger.

17       All this is come upon us;
              yet have we not forgotten thee,
              neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
18       Our heart is not turned back,
              neither have our steps declined from thy way;
19       Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,
              and covered us with the shadow of death.
20       If we have forgotten the name of our God,
              or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
21       Shall not God search this out?
              for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22       Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long;
              we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

23       Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?
              arise, cast us not off for ever.
24       Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
              and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
25       For our soul is bowed down to the dust:
              our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
26       Arise for our help,
             and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

The First of May - Personal Reading.

Song of Songs chapter 6.

The Bride Praises Her Beloved - continued

                                          Others
1         Whither is thy beloved gone,
              O thou fairest among women?
              whither is thy beloved turned aside?
              that we may seek him with thee.
2         My beloved is gone down into his garden,
              to the beds of spices,
              to feed in the gardens,
              and to gather lilies.
3         I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine:
              he feedeth among the lilies.

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

                                          He
4         Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah,
              comely as Jerusalem,
              terrible as an army with banners.
5         Turn away thine eyes from me,
              for they have overcome me:
              thy hair is as a flock of goats
              that appear from Gilead.
6         Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep
              which go up from the washing,
              whereof every one beareth twins,
              and there is not one barren among them.
7         As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples
              within thy locks.
8         There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines,
              and virgins without number.
9         My dove, my undefiled is but one;
              she is the only one of her mother,
              she is the choice one of her that bare her.
          The daughters saw her, and blessed her;
              yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
10       Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
              fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
              and terrible as an army with banners?
                                          She
11       I went down into the garden of nuts
              to see the fruits of the valley,
              and to see whether the vine flourished,
              and the pomegranates budded.
12       Or ever I was aware, my soul made me
              like the chariots of Amminadib.
                                          Others
13       Return, return, O Shulamite;
              return, return, that we may look upon thee.
                                          He
          What will ye see in the Shulamite?
              As it were the company of two armies.  

Hebrews chapter 6.

Warning Against Apostasy - continued

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
        9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God's Promise

13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

The Second of May - Family Reading

The Second of May - Personal Reading.

Song of Songs chapter 7.

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other - continued

                                          He - continued
1         How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter!
              the joints of thy thighs are like jewels,
              the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2         Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor:
              thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3         Thy two breasts are like two young roes
              that are twins.
4         Thy neck is as a tower of ivory;
              thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon,
              by the gate of Bathrabbim:
            thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
              which looketh toward Damascus.
5         Thine head upon thee is like Carmel,
              and the hair of thine head like purple;
              the king is held in the galleries.
6         How fair and how pleasant art thou,
              O love, for delights!
7         This thy stature is like to a palm tree,
              and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8         I said, I will go up to the palm tree,
              I will take hold of the boughs thereof:
              now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine,
          and the smell of thy nose like apples;
9         And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved,
                                          She
          that goeth down sweetly,
              causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
10       I am my beloved's,
              and his desire is toward me.

The Bride Gives Her Love

 11       Come, my beloved,
              let us go forth into the field;
              let us lodge in the villages.
12       Let us get up early to the vineyards;
              let us see if the vine flourish,
              whether the tender grape appear,
          and the pomegranates bud forth:
              there will I give thee my loves.
13       The mandrakes give a smell,
              and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits,
              new and old,
              which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved. 

Hebrews chapter 7.

The Priestly Order of Melchisedec

1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
      4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchisedec

11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
      15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 17 For he testifieth,

            Thou art a priest for ever
            after the order of Melchisedec.

18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
      20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: 21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him
that said unto him,

           The Lord sware
            and will not repent,
           Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)

22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
      23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.< br>      26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

The Third of May - Family Reading

The Third of May - Personal Reading.

Song of Songs chapter 8.

Longing for Her Beloved

 1         O that thou wert as my brother,
              that sucked the breasts of my mother!
              when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
            yea, I should not be despised.
2         I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house,
              who would instruct me:
              I would cause thee to drink
           of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.
3         His left hand should be under my head,
              and his right hand should embrace me.
4         I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
              that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

5         Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
              leaning upon her beloved?

            I raised thee up under the apple tree:
              there thy mother brought thee forth:
              there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
6         Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
              as a seal upon thine arm:
              for love is strong as death;
              jealousy is cruel as the grave:
            the coals thereof are coals of fire,
              which hath a most vehement flame.
7         Many waters cannot quench love,
              neither can the floods drown it:
              if a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
            it would utterly be contemned.
 

Final Advice

                                         Others
8         We have a little sister,
              and she hath no breasts:
              what shall we do for our sister
              in the day when she shall be spoken for?

9         If she be a wall,
              we will build upon her a palace of silver:
              and if she be a door,
              we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

                                          She
10       I am a wall,
              and my breasts like towers:
              then was I in his eyes
              as one that found favour.

11       Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon;
              he let out the vineyard unto keepers;
              every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
12       My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
              thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand,
              and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
                                          He
13       Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
              the companions hearken to thy voice:
              cause me to hear it.

                                          She
14       Make haste, my beloved,
              and be thou like to a roe
              or to a young hart
              upon the mountains of spices.
 

Hebrews chapter 8.

Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

 8 For finding fault with them, he saith,

            Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
            when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
            and with the house of Judah:
9         Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
           in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt
10       For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord;
            I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:
            and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11       And they shall not teach every man his neighbour,
            and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:
            for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12       For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
            and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 

The Fourth of May - Family Reading

The Fourth of May - Personal Reading.

The Book of Isaiah.

Introduction

Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel in the shadow of Assyria. He spoke the word of God to a people who were "deaf and blind" (see 6:10), who refused to listen to his warnings of looming disaster. He warned that the sin of the people of Judah would bring God's judgment, yet he also declared that God is sovereign and would use Cyrus the Persian to return them from exile. The book speaks of a "servant," a "man of sorrows,"

Isaiah chapter 1.

Introduction

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

 2         Hear, O heavens, and give ear,
              O earth:
              for the LORD hath spoken,
              I have nourished and brought up children,
              and they have rebelled against me.
3         The ox knoweth his owner,
              and the ass his master's crib:
              but Israel doth not know,
              my people doth not consider.

4         Ah sinful nation,
              a people laden with iniquity,
              a seed of evildoers,
              children that are corrupters:
              they have forsaken the LORD,
            they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger,
              they are gone away backward.

5         Why should ye be stricken any more?
              ye will revolt more and more:
              the whole head is sick,
              and the whole heart faint.

6         From the sole of the foot even unto the head
              there is no soundness in it;
              but wounds, and bruises,
              and putrifying sores:
            they have not been closed, neither bound up,
              neither mollified with ointment.

7         Your country is desolate,
              your cities are burned with fire:
              your land, strangers devour it in your presence,
              and it is desolate,
            as overthrown by strangers.
8         And the daughter of Zion is left
              as a cottage in a vineyard,
              as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,
              as a besieged city.

9         Except the LORD of hosts
              had left unto us a very small remnant,
              we should have been as Sodom,
            and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

10       Hear the word of the LORD,
              ye rulers of Sodom;
              give ear unto the law of our God,
              ye people of Gomorrah.
11       To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?
              saith the LORD:
              I am full of the burnt offerings of rams,
              and the fat of fed beasts;
            and I delight not in the blood of bullocks,
              or of lambs, or of he goats.

12       When ye come to appear before me,
              who hath required this at your hand,
              to tread my courts?

13       Bring no more vain oblations;
              incense is an abomination unto me;
              the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies,
            I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14       Your new moons and your appointed feasts
              my soul hateth:
              they are a trouble unto me;
              I am weary to bear them.
15       And when ye spread forth your hands,
              I will hide mine eyes from you:
              yea, when ye make many prayers,
              I will not hear:
              your hands are full of blood.
16       Wash you, make you clean;
              put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes;
              cease to do evil;
17       Learn to do well;
              seek judgment,
              relieve the oppressed,
              judge the fatherless,
              plead for the widow.

18       Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:
              though your sins be as scarlet,
              they shall be as white as snow;
            though they be red like crimson,
              they shall be as wool.
19       If ye be willing and obedient,
              ye shall eat the good of the land:
20       But if ye refuse and rebel,
              ye shall be devoured with the sword:
              for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

 

The Unfaithful City

 21       How is the faithful city
              become an harlot!
              it was full of judgment;
              righteousness lodged in it;
              but now murderers.
22       Thy silver is become dross,
              thy wine mixed with water:
23       Thy princes are rebellious,
              and companions of thieves:
              every one loveth gifts,
              and followeth after rewards:
              they judge not the fatherless,
            neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24       Therefore saith the Lord,
              the LORD of hosts,
              the mighty One of Israel,
              Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries,
              and avenge me of mine enemies:
25       And I will turn my hand upon thee,
              and purely purge away thy dross,
              and take away all thy tin:
26       And I will restore thy judges as at the first,
              and thy counsellors as at the beginning:
              afterward thou shalt be called,
          The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

27       Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,
              and her converts with righteousness.
28       And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together,
              and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
29       For they shall be ashamed of the oaks
              which ye have desired,
              and ye shall be confounded for the gardens
              that ye have chosen.
30       For ye shall be as an oak
              whose leaf fadeth,
              and as a garden that hath no water.
31       And the strong shall be as tow,
              and the maker of it as a spark,
              and they shall both burn together,
              and none shall quench them.
 

Hebrews chapter 9.

The Earthly Holy Place

1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
      6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
      15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
      23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The Fifth of May - Family Reading

The Fifth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 2.

The Mountain of the Lord

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2         And it shall come to pass in the last days,
              that the mountain of the LORD's house
              shall be established in the top of the mountains,
            and shall be exalted above the hills;
              and all nations shall flow unto it.
3         And many people shall go and say,
              Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
              to the house of the God of Jacob;
            and he will teach us of his ways,
              and we will walk in his paths:
              for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
              and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4         And he shall judge among the nations,
              and shall rebuke many people:
              and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
            and their spears into pruninghooks:
              nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
              neither shall they learn war any more.

5         O house of Jacob,
              come ye, and let us walk
              in the light of the LORD.

The Day of the lord

6         Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob,
              because they be replenished from the east,
              and are soothsayers like the Philistines,
              and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7         Their land also is full of silver and gold,
              neither is there any end of their treasures;
              their land is also full of horses,
            neither is there any end of their chariots:
8         Their land also is full of idols;
              they worship the work of their own hands,
              that which their own fingers have made:
9         And the mean man boweth down,
              and the great man humbleth himself:
              therefore forgive them not.
10       Enter into the rock,
              and hide thee in the dust,
              for fear of the LORD,
              and for the glory of his majesty.
11       The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
              and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
              and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

12       For the day of the LORD of hosts
              shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty,
              and upon every one that is lifted up;
              and he shall be brought low:
13       And upon all the cedars of Lebanon,
              that are high and lifted up,
              and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14       And upon all the high mountains,
              and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15       And upon every high tower,
              and upon every fenced wall,
16       And upon all the ships of Tarshish,
              and upon all pleasant pictures.
17       And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
              and the haughtiness of men shall be made low:
              and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
18       And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19       And they shall go into the holes of the rocks,
              and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD,
            and for the glory of his majesty,
              when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

20       In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver,
              and his idols of gold,
              which they made each one for himself to worship,
              to the moles and to the bats;
21       To go into the clefts of the rocks,
              and into the tops of the ragged rocks,
              for fear of the LORD,
              and for the glory of his majesty,
            when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22       Cease ye from man,
              whose breath is in his nostrils:
              for wherein is he to be accounted of ?

Hebrews chapter 10.

Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

  5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith,

           Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
            but a body hast thou prepared me:
6         In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
            thou hast had no pleasure.
7         Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,)
            to do thy will, O God.

8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
        11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

16       This is the covenant that I will make with them
            after those days, saith the Lord,
            I will put my laws into their hearts,
            and in their minds will I write them;

17       And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Full Assurance of Faith

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
        26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
        32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For

           yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38       Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

The Sixth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 3.

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

1         For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
              doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah
              the stay and the staff,
              the whole stay of bread,
            and the whole stay of water.
2         The mighty man, and the man of war,
              the judge, and the prophet,
              and the prudent, and the ancient,
3         The captain of fifty,
              and the honourable man,
              and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer,
              and the eloquent orator.
4         And I will give children to be their princes,
              and babes shall rule over them.
5         And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another,
              and every one by his neighbour:
              the child shall behave himself proudly
            against the ancient,
              and the base against the honourable.

6         When a man shall take hold of his brother
              of the house of his father, saying,
              Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler,
            and let this ruin be under thy hand:
7         In that day shall he swear, saying,
              I will not be an healer;
              for in my house is neither bread nor clothing:
              make me not a ruler of the people.
8         For Jerusalem is ruined,
              and Judah is fallen:
              because their tongue and their doings
              are against the LORD,
              to provoke the eyes of his glory.
9         The show of their countenance doth witness against them;
              and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not.
            Woe unto their soul!
              for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
10       Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him:
              for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11       Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him:
              for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12       As for my people, children are their oppressors,
              and women rule over them.
              O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err,
            and destroy the way of thy paths.

13       The LORD standeth up to plead,
              and standeth to judge the people.
14       The LORD will enter into judgment
              with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof:
              for ye have eaten up the vineyard;
            the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15       What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces,
              and grind the faces of the poor?
              saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

16       Moreover the LORD saith,
              Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
              and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes,
            walking and mincing as they go,
              and making a tinkling with their feet:
17       Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab
              the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
              and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.

	  
24       And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink;
              and instead of a girdle a rent;
              and instead of well set hair baldness;
            and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
25       Thy men shall fall by the sword,
              and thy mighty in the war.
26       And her gates shall lament and mourn;
              and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.			  

Isaiah chapter 4.

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem - continued

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

The Branch of the Lord Glorified

2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Hebrews chapter 11

By Faith

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. <
      4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
      8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
      13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
      17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
      23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
      29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
      32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
      39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

The Seventh of May - Family Reading

The Seventh of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 5.

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

 1        Now will I sing to my wellbeloved
              a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.
              My wellbeloved hath a vineyard
              in a very fruitful hill:
2        And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof,
              and planted it with the choicest vine,
              and built a tower in the midst of it,
          and also made a winepress therein:
              and he looked that it should bring forth grapes,
              and it brought forth wild grapes.
3        And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah,
              judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4        What could have been done more to my vineyard,
              that I have not done in it?
              wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes,
          brought it forth wild grapes?

5        And now go to; I will tell you
              what I will do to my vineyard:
              I will take away the hedge thereof,
              and it shall be eaten up;
          and break down the wall thereof,
              and it shall be trodden down:
6        And I will lay it waste:
              it shall not be pruned, nor digged;
              but there shall come up briers and thorns:
          I will also command the clouds
              that they rain no rain upon it.
       
7        For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
              is the house of Israel,
          and the men of Judah his pleasant plant:
              and he looked for judgment,
              but behold oppression;
              for righteousness,
              but behold a cry.
 

Woe to the Wicked

8        Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field,
              till there be no place,
              that they may be placed alone
              in the midst of the earth!
9        In mine ears said the LORD of hosts,
              Of a truth many houses shall be desolate,
              even great and fair, without inhabitant.
10      Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath,
              and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

11      Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning,
              that they may follow strong drink;
              that continue until night,
              till wine inflame them!
12      And the harp, and the viol,
              the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts:
              but they regard not the work of the LORD,
          neither consider the operation of his hands.

13      Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge:
              and their honourable men are famished,
          and their multitude dried up with thirst
14      Therefore hell hath enlarged herself,
              and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude,
          and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
15      And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled,
              and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
16      But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,
              and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17      Then shall the lambs feed after their manner,
              and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

18      Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity,
              and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19      That say, Let him make speed,
              and hasten his work,
              that we may see it:
              and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh
              and come, that we may know it!
20      Woe unto them that call evil good,
              and good evil;
              that put darkness for light,
              and light for darkness;
              that put bitter for sweet,
              and sweet for bitter!
21      Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes,
              and prudent in their own sight!
22      Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine,
              and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23      Which justify the wicked for reward,
              and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24      Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble,
              and the flame consumeth the chaff,
              so their root shall be as rottenness,
          and their blossom shall go up as dust:
              because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts,
              and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25      Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people,
              and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them:
          and the hills did tremble,
              and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets.
          For all this his anger is not turned away,
              but his hand is stretched out still.

26      And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far,
              and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth:
              and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27      None shall be weary nor stumble among them;
              none shall slumber nor sleep;
              neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed,
          nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28      Whose arrows are sharp,
              and all their bows bent,
              their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint,
              and their wheels like a whirlwind.
29      Their roaring shall be like a lion,
              they shall roar like young lions:
              yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey,
              and shall carry it away safe,
          and none shall deliver it.
30      And in that day they shall roar against them
              like the roaring of the sea:
              and if one look unto the land,
              behold darkness and sorrow,
          and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

Hebrews chapter 12.

Jesus, Founder and Pefecter of Our Faith

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God

Do Not Grow Weary

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children,

          My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
            nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
      For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
            and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
      12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
      25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

The Eighth of May - Family Reading

The Eighth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah's Vision of the Lord

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said,

      Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
        the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
      6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people,

            Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
              and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10        Make the heart of this people fat,
              and make their ears heavy,
              and shut their eyes;
              lest they see with their eyes,
              and hear with their ears,
            and understand with their heart,
              and convert, and be healed.
11        Then said I, Lord, how long?
              And he answered,
              Until the cities be wasted
              without inhabitant,
              and the houses without man,
            and the land be utterly desolate,
12        And the LORD have removed men far away,
              and there be a great forsaking
              in the midst of the land.
13        But yet in it shall be a tenth,
              and it shall return,
              and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak,
              whose substance is in them,
            when they cast their leaves:
              so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Hebrews chapter 13.

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. 4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say,B,

      The Lord is my helper,
            and I will not fear
           what man shall do unto me.

      7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
      17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
      18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. 19 But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

22 And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. 23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. 24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen.

The Nineth of May - Family Reading

The Ninth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 7.

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
        3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; 4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7 Thus saith the Lord GOD,

          It shall not stand,
              neither shall it come to pass.
8        For the head of Syria is Damascus,
              and the head of Damascus is Rezin;
              and within threescore and five years
              shall Ephraim be broken,
          that it be not a people.
9        And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
              and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.
              If ye will not believe,
              surely ye shall not be established.

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. 17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
      18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
      20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
      21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; 22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
      23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

The Epistle of James.

Introduction
   

Sometimes called "the Proverbs of the New Testament," the book of James practically and faithfully reminds Christians how to live. From perseverance to true faith to controlling one's tongue, submitting to God's will, and having patience, this book aids readers in living authentically and wisely for Christ. Many have claimed that James and the apostle Paul differed on the question of faith versus works, but in reality the spiritual fruit that James talks about simply demonstrates the true faith of which Paul wrote. Their writings are complementary rather than contradictory. Possibly one of the earliest of the New Testament writings (a.d. 40-50), the book is believed to have been written by Jesus' brother James (Gal. 1:19).

James chapter 1.

Greetings

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
      to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,
      greeting.

Testing Your Faith

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
      5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
      9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
      12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
      16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
      22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
      26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The Tenth of May - Family Reading

The Tenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 8.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. 2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
        3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. 4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
      5 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

9        Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces;
              and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves,
          and ye shall be broken in pieces;
              gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
10     Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought;
              speak the word, and it shall not stand:
              for God is with us.

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
      16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Isaiah chapter 9:1-7.

For Unto Us a Child is Born

1    Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

 
2        The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
              they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
              upon them hath the light shined.
3        Thou hast multiplied the nation,
              and not increased the joy:
              they joy before thee
              according to the joy in harvest,
          and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4        For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden,
              and the staff of his shoulder,
              the rod of his oppressor,
              as in the day of Midian.
5        For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise,
              and garments rolled in blood;
              but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
6        For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
              and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
              and his name shall be called
          Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
              The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7        Of the increase of his government and peace
              there shall be no end,
              upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
          to order it, and to establish it
              with judgment and with justice
              from henceforth even for ever.
              The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

James chapter 2.

The Sin of Partiality

1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
      8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Faith Without Works is Dead

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
      18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The Eleventh of May - Family Reading

The Eleventh of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 9:8-21.

Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression

8    The Lord sent a word into Jacob,
              and it hath lighted upon Israel.
9        And all the people shall know,
              even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria,
              that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
10      The bricks are fallen down,
              but we will build with hewn stones:
              the sycamores are cut down,
              but we will change them into cedars.
11      Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him,
              and join his enemies together;
12      The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind;
              and they shall devour Israel with open mouth.
          For all this his anger is not turned away,
              but his hand is stretched out still.

13       For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them,
              neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14       Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail,
              branch and rush, in one day.
15       The ancient and honourable, he is the head;
              and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16       For the leaders of this people cause them to err;
              and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17       Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,
              neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows:
           for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer,
              and every mouth speaketh folly.
            For all this his anger is not turned away,
              but his hand is stretched out still.

18        For wickedness burneth as the fire:
              it shall devour the briers and thorns,
              and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest,
          and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19       Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
              is the land darkened,
              and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire:
              no man shall spare his brother.
20       And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry;
              and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied:
          they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
21       Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh:
              and they together shall be against Judah.
          For all this his anger is not turned away,
              but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 10:1-4.

Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression - continued

1        Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees,
              and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
2        To turn aside the needy from judgment,
              and to take away the right from the poor of my people,
              that widows may be their prey,
          and that they may rob the fatherless!
3        And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
              and in the desolation which shall come from far?
              to whom will ye flee for help?
          and where will ye leave your glory?
4        Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners,
              and they shall fall under the slain.
          For all this his anger is not turned away,
              but his hand is stretched out still.  

James chapter 3.

Taming the Tongue

1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.
        Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Wisdom from Above

13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The Twelfth of May - Family Reading

The Twelfth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 10:5-34.

Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

5         O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,
              and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6         I will send him against an hypocritical nation,
              and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge,
          to take the spoil, and to take the prey,
              and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7        Howbeit he meaneth not so,
              neither doth his heart think so;
              but it is in his heart to destroy
              and cut off nations not a few.
8         For he saith,
              Are not my princes altogether kings?
9        Is not Calno as Carchemish?
              is not Hamath as Arpad?
              is not Samaria as Damascus?
10       As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols,
              and whose graven images did excel
              them of Jerusalem and of Samaria:
11       Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols,
              so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

      12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem,
I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. 13 For he saith,

          By the strength of my hand I have done it,
              and by my wisdom; for I am prudent:
              and I have removed the bounds of the people,
          and have robbed their treasures,
              and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14       And my hand hath found as a nest
              the riches of the people:
              and as one gathereth eggs that are left,
              have I gathered all the earth;
          and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

15       Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
              or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?
          as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up,
              or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
16        Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
              send among his fat ones leanness;
              and under his glory he shall kindle a burning
              like the burning of a fire.
17       And the light of Israel shall be for a fire,
              and his Holy One for a flame:
              and it shall burn and devour
              his thorns and his briers in one day;
18       And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field,
              both soul and body:
              and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
19       And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few,
              that a child may write them.  

The Remnant of Israel of Will Return

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
      24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

28        He is come to Aiath,
              he is passed to Migron;
              at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:
29        They are gone over the passage:
              they have taken up their lodging at Geba;
              Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
30        Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim:
              cause it to be heard unto Laish,
              O poor Anathoth.
31        Madmenah is removed;
              the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.
32        As yet shall he remain at Nob that day:
              he shall shake his hand
              against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33        Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
              shall lop the bough with terror:
              and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down,
          and the haughty shall be humbled.
34        And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
              and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

James chapter 4.

Warning Against Worldliness

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
      11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

The Thirteenth of May - Family Reading

The Thirteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 11.

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

     1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
          and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2         And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
              the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
              the spirit of counsel and might,
          the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
3         And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD:
              and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
          neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4         But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
              and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
          and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
              and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5         And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
              and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6         The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
              and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
              and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
          and a little child shall lead them.
7         And the cow and the bear shall feed;
              their young ones shall lie down together:
              and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8         And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
              and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9         They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
              for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,
              as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
	
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left,
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12       And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
              and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
              and gather together the dispersed of Judah
          from the four corners of the earth.
13       The envy also of Ephraim shall depart,
              and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off:
              Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
              and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14       But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west;
              they shall spoil them of the east together:
          they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab;
              and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15       And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea;
              and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river,
          and shall smite it in the seven streams,
              and make men go over dryshod.
16       And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people,
              which shall be left, from Assyria;
              like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up
          out of the land of Egypt.
 

Isaiah chapter 12.

The Lord is My Strength and My Song

1         And in that day thou shalt say,
              O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me,
              thine anger is turned away,
              and thou comfortedst me.

2         Behold, God is my salvation;
              I will trust, and not be afraid:
              for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song;
              he also is become my salvation.

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say,

          Praise the LORD, call upon his name,
              declare his doings among the people,
              make mention that his name is exalted.

5       Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things:
              this is known in all the earth.
6       Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:
              for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

James chapter 5.

Warning to the Rich

1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
      12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Prayer of Faith

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
      19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

The Fourteenth of May - Family Reading

The Fourteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 13.

The Judgment of Babylon
   

 1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

        Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain,
              exalt the voice unto them,
              shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3         I have commanded my sanctified ones,
              I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger,
              even them that rejoice in my highness.

4         The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
              like as of a great people;
              a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together:
          the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
5         They come from a far country,
              from the end of heaven, even the LORD,
              and the weapons of his indignation,
              to destroy the whole land.

6         Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand;
              it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7         Therefore shall all hands be faint,
              and every man's heart shall melt:
8         And they shall be afraid:
              pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;
              they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:
          they shall be amazed one at another;
              their faces shall be as flames.

9         Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,
              cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,
              to lay the land desolate:
              and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it
10       For the stars of heaven and the constellations
              thereof shall not give their light:
              the sun shall be darkened in his going forth,
          and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11       And I will punish the world for their evil,
              and the wicked for their iniquity;
              and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,
          and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12       I will make a man more precious than fine gold;
              even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13       Therefore I will shake the heavens,
              and the earth shall remove out of her place,
              in the wrath of the LORD of hosts,
              and in the day of his fierce anger.
14       And it shall be as the chased roe,
              and as a sheep that no man taketh up:
              they shall every man turn to his own people,
          and flee every one into his own land.
15       Every one that is found shall be thrust through;
              and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
16       Their children also shall be dashed to pieces
              before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled,
              and their wives ravished.

17       Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
              which shall not regard silver;
              and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
18       Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces;
              and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
              their eye shall not spare children.
19       And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
              the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
              shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20       It shall never be inhabited,
              neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
              neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there;
          neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21       But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
              and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures;
              and owls shall dwell there,
             and satyrs shall dance there.
22       And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses,
              and dragons in their pleasant palaces:
          and her time is near to come,
              and her days shall not be prolonged.

The First Epistle of Peter.

Introduction

The readers of the apostle Peter's letter were confused and discouraged by the persecution they were encountering because of their faith. Peter exhorted them to stand strong, repeatedly reminding them of Christ's example, the riches of their inheritance in him, and the hope of his returning again to take them to heaven. Peter explained how Christians should respond when they suffer because of their beliefs. Called the "apostle of hope," Peter's primary message is to trust the Lord, live obediently no matter what your circumstances, and keep your hope fixed on God's ultimate promise of deliverance. Suffering is to be expected, but it is temporary and yields great blessings for those who remain steadfast. Peter probably wrote this letter in the mid-60s a.d.

1 Peter chapter 1.

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
      Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
      10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Called to Be Holy

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
      22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

24 For

           all flesh is as grass,
            and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
           The grass withereth,
            and the flower thereof falleth away:
25       But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.

And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The Fifteenth of May - Family Reading

The Fifteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 14.

The Restoration of Jacob

1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon./p>

 How hath the oppressor ceased!
              the golden city ceased!
5        The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked,
              and the sceptre of the rulers.
6        He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
              he that ruled the nations in anger,
              is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7        The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet:
              they break forth into singing
8        Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee,
              and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
              Since thou art laid down,
              no feller is come up against us.
9        Hell from beneath is moved
              for thee to meet thee at thy coming:
              it stirreth up the dead for thee,
            even all the chief ones of the earth;
              it hath raised up from their thrones
              all the kings of the nations.
10       All they shall speak
              and say unto thee,
              Art thou also become weak as we?
              art thou become like unto us?
11       Thy pomp is brought down to the grave,
              and the noise of thy viols:
              the worm is spread under thee,
              and the worms cover thee.

12       How art thou fallen from heaven,
              O Lucifer, son of the morning!
              how art thou cut down to the ground,
              which didst weaken the nations!
13       For thou hast said in thine heart,
              I will ascend into heaven,
              I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
            I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
              in the sides of the north:
14       I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
              I will be like the most High.
15       Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,
              to the sides of the pit.
16       They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
              saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
            that did shake kingdoms;
17       That made the world as a wilderness,
              and destroyed the cities thereof;
              that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18       All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory,
              every one in his own house.
19       But thou art cast out of thy grave
              like an abominable branch,
              and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword,
            that go down to the stones of the pit;
              as a carcase trodden under feet.
20       Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial,
              because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people:

            the seed of evildoers shall
              never be renowned.
21       Prepare slaughter for his children
              for the iniquity of their fathers;
              that they do not rise, nor possess the land,
              nor fill the face of the world with cities.

        22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
 

A Oracle Concerning Assyria

24       The LORD of hosts hath sworn,
              saying, Surely as I have thought,
              so shall it come to pass;
              and as I have purposed,
              so shall it stand:
25       That I will break the Assyrian in my land,
              and upon my mountains tread him under foot:
              then shall his yoke depart from off them,
          and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26       This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth:
              and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
27       For the LORD of hosts hath purposed,
              and who shall disannul it?
              and his hand is stretched out,
              and who shall turn it back?

A Oracle Concerning Philistia

  28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29       Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina,
              because the rod of him that smote thee is broken:
              for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice,
          and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
30       And the firstborn of the poor shall feed,
              and the needy shall lie down in safety:
              and I will kill thy root with famine,
              and he shall slay thy remnant
31       Howl, O gate; cry, O city;
              thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved:
              for there shall come from the north a smoke,
          and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

32       What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation?
              That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

1 Peter chapter 2.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
      4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,

Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone,
            elect, precious:
            and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient,

       the stone which the builders disallowed,
            the same is made the head of the corner,

8 And
        a stone of stumbling,
            and a rock of offence,

even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

      9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
      11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
      18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The Sixteenth of May - Family Reading

The Sixteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 15.

An Oracle Concerning Moab

  1 The burden of Moab.

            Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste,
              and brought to silence;
              because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste,
              and brought to silence;
2         He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon,
              the high places, to weep:
              Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba:
              on all their heads shall be baldness,
            and every beard cut off.
3         In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth:
              on the tops of their houses, and in their streets,
              every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
4         And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh:
              their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz:
              therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out;
           his life shall be grievous unto him.
5         My heart shall cry out for Moab;
              his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar,
              an heifer of three years old:
              for by the mounting up of Luhith
            with weeping shall they go it up;
              for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
6         For the waters of Nimrim
              shall be desolate:
              for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth,
              there is no green thing.
7         Therefore the abundance they have gotten,
              and that which they have laid up,
              shall they carry away
              to the brook of the willows.
8         For the cry is gone
              round about the borders of Moab;
              the howling thereof unto Eglaim,
              and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.
9         For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood:
              for I will bring more upon Dimon,
              lions upon him that escapeth of Moab,
            and upon the remnant of the land.

1 Peter chapter 3.

Wives and Husbands

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
      7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness Sake

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For

          he that will love life, and see good days,
            let him refrain his tongue from evil,
            and his lips that they speak no guile:
11       Let him eschew evil, and do good;
            let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12       For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous,
           and his ears are open unto their prayers:
            but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.  

13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
    18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

The Seventeenth of May - Family Reading

The Seventeenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 16.

An Oracle Concerning Moab - continued

1         Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
              from Sela to the wilderness,
              unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2         For it shall be, that,
              as a wandering bird cast out of the nest,
              so the daughters of Moab
              shall be at the fords of Arnon.

3         Take counsel,
              execute judgment;
              make thy shadow as the night
              in the midst of the noonday;
              hide the outcasts;
              bewray not him that wandereth.
4         Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab;
              be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler:
              for the extortioner is at an end,
              the spoiler ceaseth,
           the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5         And in mercy shall the throne be established:
              and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David,
              judging, and seeking judgment,
            and hasting righteousness.

6       We have heard of the pride of Moab;
              he is very proud:
              even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath:
              but his lies shall not be so.
7         Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab,
              every one shall howl:
              for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn;
              surely they are stricken.

8         For the fields of Heshbon languish,
              and the vine of Sibmah:
              the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof,
          they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness:
              her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

9       Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer
              the vine of Sibmah:
              I will water thee with my tears,
              O Heshbon, and Elealeh:
          for the shouting for thy summer fruits
              and for thy harvest is fallen.
10       And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field;
              and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting:
          the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses;
              I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11       Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab,
              and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

      12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
	  
13 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of 
an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

1 Peter chapter 4.

Stewards of God's Grace

1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
      7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And

        if the righteous scarcely be saved,
              where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

The Eighthteenth of May - Family Reading

The Eighthteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 17.

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

 1 The burden of Damascus.

            Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city,
              and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2         The cities of Aroer are forsaken:
              they shall be for flocks,
              which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3         The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim,
              and the kingdom from Damascus,
              and the remnant of Syria:
            they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel,
              saith the LORD of hosts.

4         And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin,
              and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
5         And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn,
              and reapeth the ears with his arm;
            and it shall be as he that gathereth ears
              in the valley of Rephaim.
6         Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it,
              as the shaking of an olive tree,
              two or three berries
              in the top of the uppermost bough,
            four or five
              in the outmost fruitful branches thereof,
              saith the LORD God of Israel.

      7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 8 And he shall not look to the altars,
the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
      9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel:
and there shall be desolation.

10       Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation,
              and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength,
          therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants,
              and shalt set it with strange slips:
11       In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow,
              and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish:
            but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

12       Woe to the multitude of many people,
              which make a noise like the noise of the seas;
              and to the rushing of nations,
            that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13       The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters:
              but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off,
              and shall be chased
          as the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
              and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14       And behold at eveningtide trouble;
              and before the morning he is not.
              This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Isaiah chapter 18.

An Oracle Concerning Cush

 1         Woe to the land shadowing with wings,
              which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2         That sendeth ambassadors by the sea,
              even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying,
              Go, ye swift messengers,
            to a nation scattered and peeled,
              to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto;
              a nation meted out and trodden down,
            whose land the rivers have spoiled!

3        All ye inhabitants of the world,
              and dwellers on the earth,
              see ye, when he lifteth upan ensign on the mountain;
              and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
4         For so the LORD said unto me,
              I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs,
            and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
5         For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect,
              and the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
              he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks,
            and take away and cut down the branches.
6         They shall be left together
              unto the fowls of the mountains,
              and to the beasts of the earth:
              and the fowls shall summer upon them,
            and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts

            of a people scattered and peeled,
      and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto;
              a nation meted out and trodden under foot,
      whose land the rivers have spoiled,

to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.  

1 Peter chapter 5.

Shepherd the Flock of God

1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
      6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. 13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. 14 Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity.
        Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Nineteenth of May - Family Reading

The Ninteenth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 19.

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

1 The burden of Egypt.

        Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud,
              and shall come into Egypt:
              and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence,
        and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2         And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians:
              and they shall fight every one against his brother,
              and every one against his neighbour;
          city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3         And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof;
              and I will destroy the counsel thereof:
              and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers,
          and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4         And the Egyptians will I give over
              into the hand of a cruel lord;
              and a fierce king shall rule over them,
              saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

5         And the waters shall fail from the sea,
              and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6         And they shall turn the rivers far away;
              and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up:
              the reeds and flags shall wither.
7         The paper reeds by the brooks,
              by the mouth of the brooks,
              and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither,
              be driven away, and be no more.

8         The fishers also shall mourn,
              and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament,
              and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9         Moreover they that work in fine flax,
              and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10       And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof,
              all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

11       Surely the princes of Zoan are fools,
              the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish:
              how say ye unto Pharaoh,
          I am the son of the wise,
              the son of ancient kings?
12       Where are they? where are thy wise men?
              and let them tell thee now,
              and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
13      The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived;
              they have also seduced Egypt,
          even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
14       The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof:
              and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof,
          as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15       Neither shall there be any work for Egypt,
              which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
 

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
      18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
      19 In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.
      23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
      24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Isaiah chapter 20.

A Sign Against Egypt and Cush

1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; 2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
      3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; 4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

The Second Epistle of Peter.

Introduction

In this second letter, Peter describes (ch. 2) some twisted versions of Christian truth being taught. Recalling his experience of Christ's glory at the transfiguration (1:17-18), Peter explains the "more fully confirmed" truth of the gospel as an antidote to heresy. The gospel is like "a lamp shining in a dark place" (1:19). In chapter 3 Peter focuses on those who scoff at the idea of Christ's triumphant return and the final judgment. Just as God once destroyed the world with water, he will one day bring his fire to it. In light of this, we should live in "holiness and godliness" as we await his return and the salvation he has promised to all believers. Peter probably wrote this letter about a.d. 67-68, shortly before his death.

2 Peter chapter 1.

Greeting

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
      to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
      2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Confirm Your Calling and Election

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
      12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. 15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The Twentieth of May - Family Reading

The Twentieth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 21.

Fallen, Fallen is Babylon.

1 The burden of the desert of the sea.

            As whirlwinds in the south pass through;
              so it cometh from the desert,
              from a terrible land.
2         A grievous vision is declared unto me;
              the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously,
              and the spoiler spoileth.
              Go up, O Elam:
              besiege, O Media;
              all the sighing thereof
              have I made to cease.
3         Therefore are my loins filled with pain:
              pangs have taken hold upon me,
              as the pangs of a woman that travaileth:
            I was bowed down at the hearing of it;
              I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4         My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me:
              the night of my pleasure
              hath he turned into fear unto me.
5         Prepare the table,
              watch in the watchtower, eat, drink:
              arise, ye princes,
              and anoint the shield.
6         For thus hath the Lord said unto me,
              Go, set a watchman,
              let him declare what he seeth.
7         And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen,
              a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels;
              and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8         And he cried,
              A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime,
              and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9         And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men,
              with a couple of horsemen.
              And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen;
          and all the graven images of her gods
              he hath broken unto the ground.
10       O my threshing, and the corn of my floor:
              that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts,
              the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

      11 The burden of Dumah.

            He calleth to me out of Seir,
            Watchman, what of the night?
            Watchman, what of the night?
12       The watchman said,
              The morning cometh, and also the night:
              if ye will inquire, inquire ye:
              return, come.

      13 The burden upon Arabia.

          In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge,
              O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14       The inhabitants of the land of Tema
              brought water to him that was thirsty,
              they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15       For they fled from the swords,
              from the drawn sword,
              and from the bent bow,
              and from the grievousness of war.

      16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: 17 And the residue 
of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

2 Peter chapter 2.

False Prophets and teachers

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
      4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.
      Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to betaken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
      17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

The Twentyfirst of May - Family Reading

The Twentyfirst of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 22.

An Oracle Concrning Jerusalem

1 The burden of the valley of vision.

          What aileth thee now,
              that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2         Thou that art full of stirs,
              a tumultuous city, a joyous city:
              thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
3         All thy rulers are fled together,
              they are bound by the archers:
              all that are found in thee are bound together,
              which have fled from far.
4         Therefore said I,
              Look away from me:
              I will weep bitterly,
              labour not to comfort me,
              because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

5         For it is a day of trouble,
              and of treading down,
              and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision,
            breaking down the walls,
              and of crying to the mountains.

6         And Elam bare the quiver
              with chariots of men and horsemen,
              and Kir uncovered the shield.
7         And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots,
              and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8         And he discovered the covering of Judah,

      and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many:
and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the
wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto
him that fashioned it long ago.

12       And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts
              call to weeping, and to mourning,
              and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13       And behold joy and gladness,
              slaying oxen, and killing sheep,
              eating flesh, and drinking wine:
              let us eat and drink;
              for to morrow we shall die.
14       And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts,
              Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die,
              saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? 17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. 19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. 25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

2 Peter chapter 3.

The Day of the Lord Will Come

1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
      8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
      11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Final Words

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.

The Twentysecond of May - Family Reading

The Twentysecond of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 23.

An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon

1 The burden of Tyre.

          Howl, ye ships of Tarshish;
              for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in:
              from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2         Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle;
              thou whom the merchants of Zidon,
              that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3         And by great waters the seed of Sihor,
              the harvest of the river, is her revenue;
              and she is a mart of nations.
4         Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken,
              even the strength of the sea, saying,
              I travail not, nor bring forth children,
          neither do I nourish up young men,
              nor bring up virgins.
5         As at the report concerning Egypt,
              so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6         Pass ye over to Tarshish;
              howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7         Is this your joyous city,
              whose antiquity is of ancient days?
              her own feet shall carry her
              afar off to sojourn.
8         Who hath taken this counsel
              against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes,
              whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9         The LORD of hosts hath purposed it,
              to stain the pride of all glory,
              and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
10       Pass through thy land as a river,
              O daughter of Tarshish:
              there is no more strength.
11       He stretched out his hand over the sea,
              he shook the kingdoms:
              the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city,
          to destroy the strong holds thereof.
12       And he said,
              Thou shalt no more rejoice,
              O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon:
              arise, pass over to Chittim;
              there also shalt thou have no rest.

     13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers
thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

14       Howl, ye ships of Tarshish:
              for your strength is laid waste.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years
shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

16       Take an harp,
              go about the city,
              thou harlot that hast been forgotten;
              make sweet melody,
              sing many songs,
              that thou mayest be remembered.

17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication
with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be
treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

The First Epistle of John.

Introduction

This apostolic letter speaks authoritatively about the truth of the incarnation--a message John's doubting readers needed after hearing false teachers deny the full divinity and humanity of Christ. It reaffirms the core of Christianity, saying that either we exhibit the sound doctrine, obedience, and love that characterize all Christians, or else we are not true Christians. When all the basics of faith are in operation, we not only know joy but can live a holy life and be assured of salvation (3:19, 24)--even though we are still far from perfect (1:9). This assurance comes especially as we find ourselves learning to "love one another" as brothers and sisters in Christ (4:7-8). This general letter to congregations across Asia Minor (now Turkey) was probably written by the apostle John in the late first century a.d.

1 John chapter 1.

The Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Walking in the Light

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Twentythird of May - Family Reading

The Twentythird of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 24.

Judgment on the Whole Earth

1        Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,
               and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

2        And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
                as with the servant, so with his master;
                as with the maid, so with her mistress;
            as with the buyer, so with the seller;  as with the lender,
               so with the borrower;  as with the taker of usury,
               so with the giver of usury to him.
3        The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled:
                for the LORD hath spoken this word.

4        The earth mourneth and fadeth away,
               the world languisheth and fadeth away,
               the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5        The earth also is defiled
               under the inhabitants thereof;
                because they have transgressed the laws,
           changed the ordinance,
               broken the everlasting covenant.
6        Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, 
              and they that dwell therein are desolate: 
               therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned,
           and few men left.
7        The new wine mourneth,
               the vine languisheth, 
              all the merryhearted do sigh.
8        The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, 
              the noise of them that rejoice endeth,
               the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9        They shall not drink wine with a song;
                strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10       The city of confusion is broken down:
                every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11       There is a crying for wine in the streets; 
               all joy is darkened,
               the mirth of the land is gone.
12       In the city is left desolation,
               and the gate is smitten with destruction.
13       When thus it shall be in the midst of the land 
              among the people,
               there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree,
           and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. 
 
14       They shall lift up their voice, 
              they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD,
               they shall cry aloud from the sea.
15       Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires,
               even the name of the LORD God of Israel
               in the isles of the sea.
16       From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs,
               even glory to the righteous. 
                But I said, My leanness,
               my leanness, woe unto me!
             the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously;
                yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. 
17       Fear, and the pit, and the snare,
               are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18       And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit;
                and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit
           shall be taken in the snare:
                for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19       The earth is utterly broken down,
               the earth is clean dissolved,
               the earth is moved exceedingly.
20       The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
               and shall be removed like a cottage;
                and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it;
            and it shall fall, and not rise again.
 
21       And it shall come to pass in that day,
               that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high,
           and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22       And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit,
               and shall be shut up in the prison,
           and after many days shall they be visited.
23       Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,
               when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem,
           and before his ancients gloriously.

1 John chapter 2.

Christ Our Advocate

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

12       I write unto you, little children,
            because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13       I write unto you, fathers,
            because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
            I write unto you, young men,
            because ye have overcome the wicked one.
            I write unto you, little children,
            because ye have known the Father.
14       I have written unto you, fathers,
            because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
            I have written unto you, young men,
            because ye are strong,
            and the word of God abideth in you,
            and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
      18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Warning Concerning Antichristsrists

20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. 26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

The Twentyfourth of May - Family Reading

The Twentyfourth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 25.

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

1         O LORD, thou art my God; 
               I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; 
               for thou hast done wonderful things; 
               thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2         For thou hast made of a city an heap; 
               of a defenced city a ruin:
                a palace of strangers to be no city; 
               it shall never be built.
3         Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, 
              the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4         For thou hast been a strength to the poor,
               a strength to the needy in his distress,
               a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,
            when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5         Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers,
               as the heat in a dry place; 
               even the heat with the shadow of a cloud:
             the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. 
 
6         And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things,
               a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow,
            of wines on the lees well refined.
7         And he will destroy in this mountain
               the face of the covering cast over all people,
               and the veil that is spread over all nations.
8         He will swallow up death in victory; 
               and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; 
               and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
            from off all the earth:  for the LORD hath spoken it.
9         And it shall be said in that day,
               Lo, this is our God;  we have waited for him, and he will save us:
                this is the LORD;  we have waited for him,
            we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10       For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest,
               and Moab shall be trodden down under him,
               even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11       And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them,
               as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: 
            and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12       And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down,
               lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

1 John chapter 3.

Children of God - continued

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
      4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Love One Another

11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
      16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
      19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

The Twentyfifth of May - Family Reading

The Twentyfifth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 26.

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

 1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah;

            We have a strong city;
              salvation will God appoint
              for walls and bulwarks.
2         Open ye the gates,
              that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3         Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
              whose mind is stayed on thee:
              because he trusteth in thee.
4         Trust ye in the LORD for ever:
              for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
5         For he bringeth down
              them that dwell on high;
              the lofty city,
              he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground;
              he bringeth it even to the dust.
6         The foot shall tread it down,
              even the feet of the poor,
              and the steps of the needy.

7         The way of the just is uprightness:
              thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8         Yea, in the way of thy judgments,
              O LORD, have we waited for thee;
              the desire of our soul is to thy name,
              and to the remembrance of thee.
9         With my soul have I desired thee in the night;
              yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early:
              for when thy judgments are in the earth,
            the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10       Let favour be showed to the wicked,
              yet will he not learn righteousness:
              in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly,
          and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
11       LORD, when thy hand is lifted up,
              they will not see:
              but they shall see,
              and be ashamed for their envy at the people;
          yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
12       LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us:
              for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
13       O LORD our God,
              other lords beside thee have had dominion over us:
              but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
14       They are dead, they shall not live;
              they are deceased, they shall not rise:
              therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them,
            and made all their memory to perish.
15       Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD,
              thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified:
              thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

16       LORD, in trouble have they visited thee,
              they poured out a prayer
              when thy chastening was upon them.
17       Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery,
              is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs;
              so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
18       We have been with child, we have been in pain,
              we have as it were brought forth wind;
              we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth;
            neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19       Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.
              Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:
              for thy dew is as the dew of herbs,
            and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20       Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,
              and shut thy doors about thee:
              hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
            until the indignation be overpast.
21       For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place
              to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
              the earth also shall disclose her blood,
            and shall no more cover her slain.

1 John chapter 4.

Test the Spirits

1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

God is Love

6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
      13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The Twentysixth of May - Family Reading

The Twentysixth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 27.

The Redemption of Israel

1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent;
and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

2         In that day
              sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
3         I the LORD do keep it;
              I will water it every moment:
              lest any hurt it,
              I will keep it night and day.
4         Fury is not in me:
              who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle?
              I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5         Or let him take hold of my strength,
              that he may make peace with me;
              and he shall make peace with me.

6         He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root:
              Israel shall blossom and bud,
              and fill the face of the world with fruit.

7         Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him?
              or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
8         In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it:
              he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
9         By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged;
              and this is all the fruit to take away his sin;
              when he maketh all the stones of the altar
          as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder,
              the groves and images shall not stand up.
10       Yet the defenced city shall be desolate,
              and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness:
              there shall the calf feed,
          and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
11       When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off:
              the women come, and set them on fire:
              for it is a people of no understanding:
          therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them,
              and he that formed them will show them no favour.

12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt,and ye shall be gathered
one by one, O ye children of Israel. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready
to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. the great trumpet
shall be blown,  and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD
in the holy mount at Jerusalem.   

1 John chapter 5.

Overcoming the World

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

That You May Know

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
      16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
      19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
      20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

The Twentyseventh of May - Family Reading

The Twentyseventh of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 28.

Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
          whose glorious beauty is a fading flower,
              which are on the head of the fat valleys
              of them that are overcome with wine!
2        Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,
              which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
              as a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
            shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3        The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
              shall be trodden under feet:
4        And the glorious beauty,
              which is on the head of the fat valley,
              shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer;
            which when he that looketh upon it seeth,
              while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

5        In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory,
              and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6        And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment,
              and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

7        But they also have erred through wine,
              and through strong drink are out of the way;
              the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,
            they are swallowed up of wine,
              they are out of the way through strong drink;
              they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8        For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness,
              so that there is no place clean.

9        Whom shall he teach knowledge?
              and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?
              them that are weaned from the milk,
            and drawn from the breasts.
10       For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
              line upon line, line upon line;
              here a little, and there a little:

11       For with stammering lips
              and another tongue
              will he speak to this people.
12       To whom he said,
              This is the rest
              wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest;
              and this is the refreshing:
              yet they would not hear.
13       But the word of the LORD was unto them
              precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
              line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
            and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward,
              and be broken, and snared, and taken. 

A Cornerstone in Zion

 14       Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men,
              that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15       Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death,
              and with hell are we at agreement;
              when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
            it shall not come unto us:
              for we have made lies our refuge,
              and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16       Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD,
              Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
              a tried stone, a precious corner stone,
            a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17       Judgment also will I lay to the line,
              and righteousness to the plummet:
              and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
            and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18       And your covenant with death shall be disannulled,
              and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
              when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
            then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19       From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you:
              for morning by morning shall it pass over,
              by day and by night:
              and it shall be a vexation
            only to understand the report.
20       For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it:
              and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21       For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim,
              he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon,
              that he may do his work, his strange work;
            and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22       Now therefore be ye not mockers,
              lest your bands be made strong:
              for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption,
            even determined upon the whole earth.

23       Give ye ear, and hear my voice;
              hearken, and hear my speech.
24       Doth the plowman plow all day to sow?
              doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25       When he hath made plain the face thereof,
              doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin,
              and cast in the principal wheat
            and the appointed barley
              and the rie in their place?
26       For his God doth instruct him to discretion,
              and doth teach him.

27       For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument,
              neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin;
              but the fitches are beaten out with a staff,
              and the cummin with a rod.
28       Bread corn is bruised;
              because he will not ever be threshing it,
              nor break it with the wheel of his cart,
              nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29       This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts,
              which is wonderful in counsel,
              and excellent in working.   
 

The Second Epistle of John.

Introduction

Second John warns against the same false teaching mentioned in 1 John. This letter, however, was addressed to "the elect lady and her children" (perhaps a local congregation), and focused on Christian hospitality. False teachers were using the kindness of Christians to gain influence within John's congregations. John's letter spoke of this danger and warned against opening one's home to these destroyers of the faith. While the basic themes of 1 John--holding fast to truth, love, and obedience--are evident, there is the additional focus on what Christian hospitality is all about. Only when you find agreement on sound doctrine will you find meaningful fellowship. The letter was probably written by the apostle John in the late first century a.d.

2 John chapter 1.

Greeting

1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
      3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Final Greetings

12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
      13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

The Twentyeighth of May - Family Reading

The Book of Dueteronomy.

Introduction

Deuteronomy, which means"second law," is a retelling by Moses of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It includes an extended review of the Ten Commandments (4:44-5:33) and Moses' farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the Promised Land. Moses reminds them of God's faithfulness and love, but also of God's wrath on the previous generation of Israelites because of their rebellion. Repeatedly he charges Israel to keep the Law. Deuteronomy is a solemn call to love and obey the one true God. There are blessings for faithfulness and curses for unfaithfulness. The book closes with the selection of Joshua as Israel's new leader and the death of Moses.

Deuteronomy chapter 1

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; 4 After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: 5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, 6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: 7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

Leaders appointed

9 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: 10 The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 11 (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) 12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? 13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. 14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. 15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

Israel's Refusal to Enter the Land

19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea. 20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. 21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. 22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. 23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: 24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. 25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.
      26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. 29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; 31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. 32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God, 33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

The Penalty for Israel's Rebellion

34 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, 35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, 36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD. 37 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
        41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. 42 And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. 43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. 44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. 45 And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. 46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Psalm 81.

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

  TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN UPON GITTITH, A PSALM OF ASAPH

1        Sing aloud unto God our strength:
              make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2        Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel,
              the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3        Blow up the trumpet in the new moon,
              in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

4        For this was a statute for Israel,
              and a law of the God of Jacob.
5        This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony,
              when he went out through the land of Egypt:
              where I heard a language that I understood not.
6        I removed his shoulder from the burden:
              his hands were delivered from the pots.
7        Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee;
              I answered thee in the secret place of thunder:
              I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

8        Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee:
              O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9        There shall no strange god be in thee;
              neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10       I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:
              open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11       But my people would not hearken to my voice;
              and Israel would none of me.
12       So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust:
              and they walked in their own counsels.
13       Oh that my people had hearkened unto me,
              and Israel had walked in my ways!
14       I should soon have subdued their enemies,
              and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15       The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him:
              but their time should have endured for ever.
16       He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat:
              and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.   

Psalm 82.

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A PSALM OF ASAPH

1         God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
              he judgeth among the gods.
2         How long will ye judge unjustly,
              and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

3         Defend the poor and fatherless:
              do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4         Deliver the poor and needy:
              rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5         They know not, neither will they understand;
              they walk on in darkness:
              all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6         I have said, Ye are gods;
              and all of you are children of the most High.
7         But ye shall die like men,
              and fall like one of the princes.

8         Arise, O God, judge the earth:
              for thou shalt inherit all nations.

The Twentyeighth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 29.

The Siege of Jerusalem

 1         Woe to Ariel, to Ariel,
              the city where David dwelt!
              add ye year to year;
              let them kill sacrifices.
2         Yet I will distress Ariel,
              and there shall be heaviness and sorrow:
              and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
3         And I will camp against thee round about,
              and will lay siege against thee with a mount,
              and I will raise forts against thee.
4         And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground,
              and thy speech shall be low out of the dust,
              and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground,
              and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

5         Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust,
              and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away:
          yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
6         Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder,
              and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest,
          and the flame of devouring fire.
7         And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
              even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her,
          shall be as a dream of a night vision.
8         It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth;
              but he awaketh, and his soul is empty:
          or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh,
              and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite:
          so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

9         Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry:
              they are drunken, but not with wine;
              they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10       For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep,
              and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers,
          the seers hath he covered.

11   And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray
thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith,
I am not learned.

13       Wherefore the Lord said,
              Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth,
              and with their lips do honour me,
          but have removed their heart far from me,
              and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14       Therefore, behold, I will proceed
              to do a marvellous work among this people,
              even a marvellous work and a wonder:
          for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
              and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

15       Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD,
              and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us?
            and who knoweth us?
16       Surely your turning of things upside down
              shall be esteemed as the potter's clay:
              for shall the work say of him that made it,
          He made me not?
              or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it,
              He had no understanding?

17       Is it not yet a very little while,
              and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
              and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
18       And in that day shall the deaf hear
              the words of the book,
              and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
19       The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD,
              and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20       For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed,
              and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
21       That make a man an offender for a word,
              and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate,
              and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

22   Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob,

            Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
              neither shall his face now wax pale.
23       But when he seeth his children,
              the work of mine hands, in the midst of him,
              they shall sanctify my name,
              and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
            and shall fear the God of Israel.
24       They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding,
              and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

The Third Epistle of John.

Introduction

Third John supplements statements on Christian hospitality in 2 John. It applauds a Christian named Gaius for living out the teachings of the apostles--he had welcomed traveling Christian missionaries into his home--while condemning Diotrephes, a selfish church leader who not only refused to help these itinerant, godly teachers but also had slandered and opposed those who disagreed with him. This book demonstrates that pride can divide Christians if they are not living by God's Word. To avoid the dual dangers of false teaching and division within the church, believers should practice the dual virtues of love and discernment. The letter was probably written by the apostle John in the late first century a.d.

3 John chapter 1.

Greeting

1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
      2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Support and Opposition

5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; 6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: 7 Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
      9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
      11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. 12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

Final Greetings

13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: 14 But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face.
      15 Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

The Twentyninth of May - Family Reading

The Twentyninth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 30.

Do Not Go Down to Egypt

 1         Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD,
              that take counsel, but not of me;
              and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit,
            that they may add sin to sin:
2         That walk to go down into Egypt,
              and have not asked at my mouth;
              to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
            and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3         Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame,
              and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4         For his princes were at Zoan,
              and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5         They were all ashamed
              of a people that could not profit them,
              nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

6 The burden of the beasts of the south:

            into the land of trouble and anguish,
              from whence come the young and old lion,
              the viper and fiery flying serpent,
              they will carry their riches
            upon the shoulders of young asses,
              and their treasures upon the bunches of camels,
              to a people that shall not profit them.
7         For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose:
              therefore have I cried concerning this,
              Their strength is to sit still.

A Rebellious People

8         Now go, write it before them in a table,
              and note it in a book,
              that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9         That this is a rebellious people, lying children,
              children that will not hear
              the law of the LORD:
10       Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets,
              Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11       Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path,
              cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12       Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel,
              Because ye despise this word,
              and trust in oppression and perverseness,
              and stay thereon:
13       Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
              as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh
              suddenly at an instant.
14       And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel
              that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare:
            so that there shall not be found
              in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth,
              or to take water withal out of the pit.

15       For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel;
              In returning and rest shall ye be saved;
              in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:
            and ye would not. 16 But ye said,
              No; for we will flee upon horses;
              therefore shall ye flee:
              and, We will ride upon the swift;
              therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17       One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one;
              at the rebuke of five shall ye flee:
              till ye be left
             as a beacon upon the top of a mountain,
            and as an ensign on an hill.   

The LORD Will Be Gracious

18       And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you,
              and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you:
            for the LORD is a God of judgment:
              blessed are all they that wait for him.

      19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
      23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. 24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. 25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

27       Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far,
              burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy:
              his lips are full of indignation,
          and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28       And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck,
              to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity:
          and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. 30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. 33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

The Epistle of Jude.

Introduction

The letter of Jude warns against those who, having gained admission to the church, were perverting the grace of God, denying "our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (v. 4). Jude used Old Testament examples to warn of these "blemishes" on the church. He wrote multiple denunciations of these ungodly people who "defile the flesh" and "reject authority" (v. 8). He urged Christians to continue in godliness and love toward such people, in some cases reasoning with them, in other cases "snatching them out of the fire" (v. 23). Jude closes with one of the most beautiful doxologies in all of Scripture (vv. 24-25). Jude was the brother of James (probably "James the Lord's brother," Gal. 1:19).
He likely wrote sometime between a.d. 65 and 80.

Jude chapter 1.

Greeting

1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
        to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
        2 Mercy unto you, and peace and love, be multiplied.

Judgment on False Teachers

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
        5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
      8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
      14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

A call to Persevere

17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Doxology

24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.

The Thirtieth of May - Family Reading

The Thirtieth of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 31.

Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt

1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help;
              and stay on horses,
              and trust in chariots, because they are many;
              and in horsemen, because they are very strong;
              but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel,
              neither seek the LORD!
2         Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words:
              but will arise against the house of the evildoers,
            and against the help of them that work iniquity.
3         Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
              and their horses flesh, and not spirit.
              When the LORD shall stretch out his hand,
            both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down,
              and they all shall fail together.

4         For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me,
              Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey,
            when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him,
              he will not be afraid of their voice,
              nor abase himself for the noise of them:
            so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion,
              and for the hill thereof.
5         As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts
              defend Jerusalem;
              defending also he will deliver it;
              and passing over he will preserve it.

6   Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his
idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

8         Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man;
              and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him:
            but he shall flee from the sword,
              and his young men shall be discomfited.
9         And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear,
              and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,
              and his furnace in Jerusalem.

The Book of Revelation.

Introduction

"The revelation of Jesus Christ" (1:1) was probably written by the apostle John while in exile on the island of Patmos, off the coast of present-day Turkey. It was addressed to seven actual churches. Revelation begins with letters from Christ himself to these churches, letters that include commendation, criticism, and comfort. Then comes a long series of visions of judgment on the wicked, all in highly symbolic language. The church is depicted under great distress but is assured of the final triumph of Jesus as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (19:16), bringing to an end the rebellion of humanity and ushering in "a new heaven and a new earth" (21:1), where God himself will reign forever and ever (11:15). Revelation was probably written a.d. 95-96.

Revelation chapter 1.

Prologue

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Greetings to the Seven Churches

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia:
      Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.
      Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
      8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Vision of the Son of Man

9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
      12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
      17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The Thirtyfirst of May - Family Reading

The Thirtyfirst of May - Personal Reading.

Isaiah chapter 32.

A King Will Reign in Righteousness

 1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
              and princes shall rule in judgment.
2         And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind,
              and a covert from the tempest;
              as rivers of water in a dry place,
            as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3         And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,
              and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4         The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge,
              and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5         The vile person shall be no more called liberal,
              nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6         For the vile person will speak villany,
              and his heart will work iniquity,
              to practice hypocrisy,
              and to utter error against the LORD,
            to make empty the soul of the hungry,
              and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7         The instruments also of the churl are evil:
              he deviseth wicked devices
              to destroy the poor with lying words,
              even when the needy speaketh right.
8         But the liberal deviseth liberal things;
              and by liberal things shall he stand.

Complacent Women Warned of Disaster

9        Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice,
              ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10       Many days and years
              shall ye be troubled, ye careless women:
              for the vintage shall fail,
              the gathering shall not come.
11       Tremble, ye women that are at ease;
              be troubled, ye careless ones:
              strip you, and make you bare,
              and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12       They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields,
              for the fruitful vine.
13       Upon the land of my people
              shall come up thorns and briers;
              yea, upon all the houses
              of joy in the joyous city:
14       Because the palaces shall be forsaken;
              the multitude of the city shall be left;
              the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever,
            a joy of wild asses,
              a pasture of flocks;
15       Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high,
              and the wilderness be a fruitful field,
              and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16       Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness,
              and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17       And the work of righteousness shall be peace;
              and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18       And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation,
              and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19       When it shall hail, coming down on the forest;
              and the city shall be low in a low place.
20       Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters,
              that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
 

Revelation chapter 2.

To the Church in Ephesus

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
    2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

To the Church in Smyrna