Day 278 – October 5, 2021

Isaiah 34

1 Come near, you nations, and listen, you rulers. Let the earth hear and those in it, the inhabited earth and the people therein.†

2 For the anger of the Lord is against all the nations, and His wrath against all the number of them, to destroy them utterly and to deliver them over for slaughter.

3 Their slain and their dead shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise from their dead bodies, and the mountains shall be drenched with their blood.

4 Heaven shall also be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars shall fall like leaves from a vine, as leaves fall from a fig tree.

5 My sword in heaven is soaked with blood. Behold, it shall come down on Edom, and with judgment on the people of destruction.

6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood. It is fattened with the fat of lambs, goats, and rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom.

7 The mighty ones shall fall with them, and the rams and the bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood and saturated with fatness.

8 For it is the day of the Lord’s judgment and the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 Its valleys shall be turned into pitch and its land into brimstone. Its land shall become burning pitch.

10 It shall never be quenched day or night, and its smoke shall rise up. It shall lie waste for all time and generations.

11 But birds and hedgehogs shall live in it, and also ibises and ravens. He shall stretch out over it the measuring line of a desert, and donkey-centaurs will dwell in it.†

12 Its rulers shall be no more, for its kings, rulers, and great ones shall be destroyed.

13 Thorn-trees shall come up in its cities and fortresses; it shall be a habitation of sirens, a courtyard for ostriches.

14 Demons shall also meet with donkey-centaurs, and one will cry out to another. Donkey-centaurs shall also rest there, for they found themselves a place of rest.

15 There the hedgehog made its nest, and the earth preserved its children in safety. There the deer also gathered and saw one another’s faces.

16 They passed by in numbers, and not one of them perished. Not one of them sought the other, for the Lord commanded them, and His Spirit gathered them.

17 He shall cast lots for them, and His hand divided it among them to graze upon. They shall inherit it for all time, and shall rest on it from generation to generation.

Psalms 79

1 For the End, concerning things that shall be changed; a testimony for Asaph, a psalm concerning the Assyrian. †

2 Give heed, O You who shepherd Israel; Reveal Yourself, O You who lead Joseph like a flock, Who sit upon the cherubim. 

3 Raise up Your power Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, And come for our salvation. 

4 O God, convert us, And reveal Your face, and we shall be saved. 

5 O Lord God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your servant? 

6 Will You feed us the bread of tears, And will You give us as drink tears in measure? 

7 You made us an offense to our neighbors, And our enemies sneered at us. 

8 O Lord God, convert us, And reveal Your face, and we shall be saved. (Pause) 

9 You removed a vineyard from Egypt; You cast out the nations and planted it; 

10 You prepared the way before it, And You planted its roots; and the earth was filled. 

11 Its shade covered the mountains, And its vines the cedars of God; 

12 Its branches reached to the sea And its shoots as far as the river. 

13 Why did You pull down its hedge, And all who pass on the road gather its grapes? 

14 A wild swine from the forest laid it waste, A solitary wild beast devoured it. 

15 O God of hosts, convert us now; Look down from heaven and behold, And visit this vineyard 

16 Which Your right hand planted, and perfect it. And visit the son of man, whom You strengthened for Yourself. 

17 It was set on fire and uprooted, But they shall perish at the rebuke of Your face. 

18 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, And upon the son of man, whom You strengthened for Yourself; 

19 Then we will not turn away from You; You will give us life, and we will call upon Your name. 

20 O Lord God of hosts, convert us, and reveal Your face, and we shall be saved.

Proverbs of Solomon 17

Family and Friends

1 Better is a morsel with enjoyment in peace Than a house full of many good things and unrighteous sacrifices with quarreling.† 

2 A servant with discernment shall rule over masters without discernment, And will divide portions among brethren. 

3 As silver and gold are tested in a furnace, So are chosen hearts before the Lord.† 

4 An evil man heeds the tongue of the lawless, But a righteous man pays no attention to false lips.† 

5 He who laughs at the poor provokes the One who made him, And he who rejoices in destruction will not be unpunished; But he who has compassion will be shown mercy.

Ephesians 6

Children and Parents

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.†

2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:

3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;†

6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.†

Spiritual Warfare

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Spiritual Weaponry

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Spiritual Readiness

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—†

19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Commendation and Benediction

21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;†

22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.†

24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.