There is the sound of fugitives and survivors from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance for his temple. 29 Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp all around her, there must not be for her an escape…
+ 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 86:9-17
Psa 86:9 All the nations you have made
shall come and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
Psa 86:10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Psa 86:11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
Psa 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God,
with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
Psa 86:13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
Psa 86:14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
Psa 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psa 86:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.
Psa 86:17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Reading for Thursday June 18th Jeremiah 50:28-46
28 There is the sound of fugitives and survivors
from the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,
the vengeance for his temple.
29 Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Encamp all around her,
there must not be for her an escape.
Take revenge on her according to her deeds.
According to all that she has done, so do to her.
For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30 ?Therefore? her young men will fall in her public squares,
and all ?her soldiers? will perish on that day,” ?declares? Yahweh.
31 “Look, I am against you, O arrogant one,”
?declares? Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 And the arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and there is no one who raises him up.
And I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.”
33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah likewise,
?for? all their captors have seized them,
they refuse to let them go free.
34 Their redeemer is strong,
his name is Yahweh of hosts.
Surely he will plead their case,
in order to make peace for the earth,
but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans,” ?declares? Yahweh,
“and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials,
and against her wise men.
36 A sword against the oracle priests,
and they will become foolish.
A sword against her warriors,
and they will be filled with terror.
37 A sword against his horses,
and against his chariots,
and against all the foreign troops who are in the midst of her,
so that they may become as women.
A sword against her treasures,
so that they may be plundered.
38 A drought will come against her waters,
and they will dry up,
for it is a land of images,
and because of the frightful objects, they act like madmen.
39 ?Therefore? desert creatures will live there with jackals,
and daughters of ostriches will inhabit her.
And she will not be inhabited again ?forever?,
and she will not be dwelt in ?for all generations?.
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighbors,” ?declares? Yahweh,
“no one will live there,
and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.
41 Look, a people is about to come
from the north,
and a great nation and many kings are woken up
from the remotest part of the earth.
42 They keep hold of bow and short sword.
They are cruel and they have no mercy.
Their sound is like the sea, it roars,
and upon horses they ride.
Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle,
against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon heard their report
and his hands grew slack.
Anxiety has seized him,
fear and pain like the woman who gives birth.
44 Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan
against ?a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream?,
so ?I will chase them away quickly? from her,
and I will appoint whoever is chosen over her.
For who is like me, and who can summon me,
and who is this shepherd who can stand ?before me??
45 ?Therefore? hear the plan of Yahweh
that he has planned against Babylon,
and his plans
that he has planned against the land of the Chaldeans.
?Surely? they will drag them away,
the little ones of the flock.
?Surely? he will cause their grazing place
to be desolate over them.
46 At the sound, ‘Babylon has been captured,’
the earth will quake,
and a cry for help among the nations
will be heard.”
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
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.
