And the word of Yahweh came to me, ?saying?, 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, 3 and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites, your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, ?on the day you were born? your umbilical cord was not cut, and ?you were not thoroughly washed clean with water?, and ?you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt?, and ?you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth?. 5 ?No eye took pity on you? to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown ?into the open field? in their despising of you ?on the day you were born…
+ DAILY PRAYER +
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 21:1-7
Psa 21:1 O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
Psa 21:2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
Psa 21:3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
Psa 21:4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
Psa 21:5 His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
Psa 21:6 For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
Psa 21:7 For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
Reading for Wednesday August 5th Ezekiel 16:1-25
God’s Covenant Grace to Unfaithful and Rebellious Israel
16 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ?saying?, 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, 3 and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites, your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, ?on the day you were born? your umbilical cord was not cut, and ?you were not thoroughly washed clean with water?, and ?you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt?, and ?you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth?. 5 ?No eye took pity on you? to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown ?into the open field? in their despising of you ?on the day you were born?.
6 “ ‘And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live! 7 Grow up; I will make you like a plant of the field.” And you grew up, and you became tall and ?reached full womanhood?. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked and bare.
8 “ ‘And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, ?your time of lovemaking had come?, and so I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you,’ ?declares? the Lord Yahweh, ‘and ?you became mine?. 9 And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil. 10 And I clothed you with beautiful finished cloth, and I put sandals on you of fine leather, and I bound you in fine linen, and I covered you with costly fabric. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments, and I put a bracelet on your arms and a necklace on your neck. 12 And I put an ornamental ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a ?beautiful crown? on your head. 13 And you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen and costly fabric and beautiful finished cloth; you ate finely milled flour and honey and olive oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful; ?you were fit to be a queen?. 14 And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,’ ?declares? the Lord Yahweh. 15 ‘And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every one passing by, saying, “Let it be his.” 16 And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful shrines, and you prostituted on them; ?this had not happened before?, and it ?will not continue to happen?. 17 And you took ?your beautiful jewelry? made from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself ?male images?, and you prostituted with them. 18 And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set ?before them?. 19 And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, then you set it ?before them? as a ?pleasing odor?, and so it was,’ ?declares? the Lord Yahweh. 20 ‘And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten, ?as if your whorings were not enough?. 21 And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them ?to be sacrificed to them?. 22 And in all of your detestable things and your fornication you did not remember the days of your childhood ?when you were naked and bare?, when you were kicking about in your blood.
23 “ ‘And then after all of your evil! Woe, woe, to you!’ ?declares? the Lord Yahweh. 24 ‘And then you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square. 25 At the head of every street you built your high place and you disgraced your beauty and you spread your feet for every passerby, and you increased your whoring.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, You delivered us from the enemy through the death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, with whom we are united in Holy Baptism. Continue to deliver us, we pray, from our diseases and afflictions by Your merciful gift of healing as You feed us holy food and give us the cup or everlasting life to drink; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us to do Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
