Bible Readings for Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

– The Week of The 16th Sunday After Pentecost

*Click on each bible passage to expand the text.

Psalm 144

1. [Of David.] Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

2. my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.

3. O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?

4. They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.

5. Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.

6. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.

7. Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,

8. whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.

9. I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10. the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.

11. Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.

12. May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.

13. May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,

14. and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.

15. Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Isaiah 27:1-6

1. On that day the LORD with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.

2. On that day: A pleasant vineyard, sing about it!

3. I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. I guard it night and day so that no one can harm it;

4. I have no wrath. If it gives me thorns and briers, I will march to battle against it. I will burn it up.

5. Or else let it cling to me for protection, let it make peace with me, let it make peace with me.

6. In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

18. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;

19. that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.

20. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.