ISAIAH
5:1-7
PSALM
80:1-2, 8-18
HEBREWS
11:29-12:2
LUKE
12:49-56
ISAIAH
5:1-7
Let
me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his
vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile
hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it
with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of
it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to
yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now,
inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge
between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do
for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I
expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild
grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my
vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be
devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be
trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be
pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers
and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they
rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of
hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw
bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
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PSALM
80:1-2, 8-18
REFRAIN
Behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand
has planted.
Hear,
O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine
forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
In
the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up
your strength and come to help us. R
You
have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the
nations and planted it.
You
prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the
land.
The
mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering
cedar trees by its boughs. R
You
stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches
to the River.
Why
have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by
pluck off its grapes?
The
wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts
of the field have grazed upon it. R
Turn
now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and
tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has
planted.
They
burn it with fire like rubbish; at the rebuke of your
countenance let them perish. R
Let
your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of
man you have made so strong for yourself.
And
so will we never turn away from you; give us life, that
we may call upon your Name.
Restore
us, O Lord God of hosts; show the light of your
countenance, and we shall be saved. R
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HEBREWS
11:29-12:2
By
faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it
were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so
they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell
after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith
Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were
disobedient, because she had received the spies in
peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail
me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David
and Samuel and the prophets - who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained
promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging
fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of
weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to
flight. Women received their dead by resurrection.
Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in
order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered
mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they
were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of
sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented - of
whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts
and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Yet
all these, though they were commended for their faith,
did not receive what was promised, since God had
provided something better so that they would not, apart
from us, be made perfect. Therefore, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also
lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so
closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that
is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and
perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its
shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the
throne of God.
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LUKE
12:49-56
Jesus
said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I
wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with
which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until
it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring
peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
From now on five in one household will be divided, three
against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son and son against father, mother
against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against mother-in law." He also
said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in
the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain';
and so it happens. And when you see the south wind
blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it
happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the
appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how
to interpret the present time?"
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