You Are Someone Special!
Chosen by God!
By Riqui Ricón
But we ought always to thank God
for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as
firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through
our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2
Thessalonians 2:13–14, NIV)
The word gospel
means good news, and that’s
exactly what the Bible—the Word of God that never lies—establishes in our
lives. You were chosen from the very beginning for salvation; that is, to receive the abundant, full life that Jesus Christ won for you, which is
nothing less than Eternal Life.
The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full. (John
10:10, NIV)
Now, you weren’t chosen by God because of
your gifts or talents, or because of your good behavior. You were chosen
because of the great Love that God has for you. You were set apart by the Holy Spirit
when you believed
the Word of God, which is
Truth, and which says:
By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned
for, and this will be the full fruit of the
removal of his sin. (Isaiah 27:9a,
NIV)
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s message of Love in His Word is constant
and consistent: the redemption of your life. This means that you were
bought through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that, by Him
paying for all your sins,
you were granted the right to freedom
and the fullness of life that only a born-again son or daughter of God can experience—and which is now
your inheritance: Eternal Life, the very Life of God.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, KJV)
Now, too many believers think that holiness
is achieved through repentance and through works they must do to please God and maintain
their relationship with Him.
The problem with that way of thinking is that they forget that they have already been chosen for salvation
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through faith—that is, by
believing God and believing His Word.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV)
So, God is not pleased by our righteous
works but by our faith—by believing what He has already provided through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
Then he answered and spake
unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might,
nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6, KJV)
Beloved, God is not as interested in your
failures and defeats as He is in the actions
filled with faith—believing Him, believing His Word—that you take to fulfill the purpose for which you are
still here on earth. For that very reason, He made you new through faith in
Jesus Christ.
And you hath He quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by
grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in
the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which
God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:1–10, KJV)
This is His plan—and it’s so perfect
that even faith itself is included as a gift
from God to you. All of this was designed
so that there wouldn’t be even the
slightest chance for you to fail, because
He is the one who sanctifies you.
When you were slaves to sin, you
were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that
time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But
now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves
of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is
eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans
6:20–23, NIV)
So do not fear—only believe—and begin to think, speak, and live as what you truly are: a beloved and chosen child
of God!
Let’s pray out loud:
Beloved Heavenly Father,
I praise and bless You for what You have done for me—adopting me as Your child
and paying for my adoption with the Life of Jesus, the forgiveness of all my
sins. Thank You, because when I have been in distress, I have called
on You, and You have always answered
me, setting me in
a spacious place. You are with me; I will not fear what man can do to me. You
are with me among those who help me; therefore, I will see victory over those
who oppose me. It is better to trust in You than to trust in humans. It is
better to trust in You than to trust
in princes. I know that every sickness, problem, or circumstance, I will
overcome in Your name, Jesus. Even if today I feel surrounded by bees, or if
situations burn against me like a fire of thorns, I know that in Your name,
Jesus, I will defeat them. You are my helper. You are my song and my strength.
You are Jesus, my Lord and Savior. nTherefore, I believe and declare that I, (your name
here), am healed! I am free! I am prosperous! I am blessed! I am a born-again
child of God! In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Important Note:
How do I become a Child of God? How do I establish a relationship with the
Almighty?
Just say the following prayer
aloud, putting all your attention
and heart into what you are saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of
God. That You came into this world, born
of the virgin Mary, to pay for all my sins, and I have
been a sinner. Therefore, today I say that I accept. I accept Your
sacrifice on the cross! I accept Your precious
Blood shed to the last drop out of love for me! I open my
heart to You and invite You in
because I want, Lord Jesus, that from today and forever You be my only and sufficient Savior, my
God, my King, and my Lord.
Thank You, Almighty God, because with this
simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to Life, I have been transferred from darkness
to Your marvelous Light. Today I have been Born Again! God, now I am Your
Child! Now You are my Father! I will never be alone again! I will never live
defeated again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Chosen by God!
By Riqui Ricón
But we ought always to thank God
for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as
firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through
our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2
Thessalonians 2:13–14, NIV)
The word gospel
means good news, and that’s
exactly what the Bible—the Word of God that never lies—establishes in our
lives. You were chosen from the very beginning for salvation; that is, to receive the abundant, full life that Jesus Christ won for you, which is
nothing less than Eternal Life.
The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full. (John
10:10, NIV)
Now, you weren’t chosen by God because of
your gifts or talents, or because of your good behavior. You were chosen
because of the great Love that God has for you. You were set apart by the Holy Spirit
when you believed
the Word of God, which is
Truth, and which says:
By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned
for, and this will be the full fruit of the
removal of his sin. (Isaiah 27:9a,
NIV)
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s message of Love in His Word is constant
and consistent: the redemption of your life. This means that you were
bought through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that, by Him
paying for all your sins,
you were granted the right to freedom
and the fullness of life that only a born-again son or daughter of God can experience—and which is now
your inheritance: Eternal Life, the very Life of God.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, KJV)
Now, too many believers think that holiness
is achieved through repentance and through works they must do to please God and maintain
their relationship with Him.
The problem with that way of thinking is that they forget that they have already been chosen for salvation
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through faith—that is, by
believing God and believing His Word.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV)
So, God is not pleased by our righteous
works but by our faith—by believing what He has already provided through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
Then he answered and spake
unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might,
nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6, KJV)
Beloved, God is not as interested in your
failures and defeats as He is in the actions
filled with faith—believing Him, believing His Word—that you take to fulfill the purpose for which you are
still here on earth. For that very reason, He made you new through faith in
Jesus Christ.
And you hath He quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by
grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in
the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which
God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:1–10, KJV)
This is His plan—and it’s so perfect
that even faith itself is included as a gift
from God to you. All of this was designed
so that there wouldn’t be even the
slightest chance for you to fail, because
He is the one who sanctifies you.
When you were slaves to sin, you
were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that
time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But
now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves
of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is
eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans
6:20–23, NIV)
So do not fear—only believe—and begin to think, speak, and live as what you truly are: a beloved and chosen child
of God!
Let’s pray out loud:
Beloved Heavenly Father,
I praise and bless You for what You have done for me—adopting me as Your child
and paying for my adoption with the Life of Jesus, the forgiveness of all my
sins. Thank You, because when I have been in distress, I have called
on You, and You have always answered
me, setting me in
a spacious place. You are with me; I will not fear what man can do to me. You
are with me among those who help me; therefore, I will see victory over those
who oppose me. It is better to trust in You than to trust in humans. It is
better to trust in You than to trust
in princes. I know that every sickness, problem, or circumstance, I will
overcome in Your name, Jesus. Even if today I feel surrounded by bees, or if
situations burn against me like a fire of thorns, I know that in Your name,
Jesus, I will defeat them. You are my helper. You are my song and my strength.
You are Jesus, my Lord and Savior. nTherefore, I believe and declare that I, (your name
here), am healed! I am free! I am prosperous! I am blessed! I am a born-again
child of God! In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Important Note:
How do I become a Child of God? How do I establish a relationship with the
Almighty?
Just say the following prayer
aloud, putting all your attention
and heart into what you are saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of
God. That You came into this world, born
of the virgin Mary, to pay for all my sins, and I have
been a sinner. Therefore, today I say that I accept. I accept Your
sacrifice on the cross! I accept Your precious
Blood shed to the last drop out of love for me! I open my
heart to You and invite You in
because I want, Lord Jesus, that from today and forever You be my only and sufficient Savior, my
God, my King, and my Lord.
Thank You, Almighty God, because with this
simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to Life, I have been transferred from darkness
to Your marvelous Light. Today I have been Born Again! God, now I am Your
Child! Now You are my Father! I will never be alone again! I will never live
defeated again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Three Recommendations:
What just happened by you recognizing Jesus Christ as the Lord and
Savior of your life, according
to God's Word, is that you have been Born Again. No longer
as an ordinary human being, subject to the law of sin and death, but now as a
legitimate and authentic Child of God, Born Again, exactly like Jesus Christ, who is now your Older Brother. Therefore,
I give you these three, very important, recommendations:
1.
Pray. Praying is talking with God. So, find a quiet
place where you can begin talking to Him about everything. Do it out loud, and you will notice
how God always responds to your heart.
2.
Read and meditate
on the Word of God. The Bible
is the Word of God, so
get a Bible and start reading and meditating on it. How do you begin? It’s very simple. Depending on the day,
look up the reading program “The
Bible in One Year” and do the corresponding readings. You can get this program at: Through The Bible In One Year (palabradehonor.org). You will notice
that the program is set up so you can print it as a booklet.
3.
In prayer with God, your Father, look for and join a
Christian church or congregation where the Word of God is taught based
on the Good News, which are
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ricardo C. Peredo Jaime © 2020
What just happened by you recognizing Jesus Christ as the Lord and
Savior of your life, according
to God's Word, is that you have been Born Again. No longer
as an ordinary human being, subject to the law of sin and death, but now as a
legitimate and authentic Child of God, Born Again, exactly like Jesus Christ, who is now your Older Brother. Therefore,
I give you these three, very important, recommendations:
1.
Pray. Praying is talking with God. So, find a quiet
place where you can begin talking to Him about everything. Do it out loud, and you will notice
how God always responds to your heart.
2.
Read and meditate
on the Word of God. The Bible
is the Word of God, so
get a Bible and start reading and meditating on it. How do you begin? It’s very simple. Depending on the day,
look up the reading program “The
Bible in One Year” and do the corresponding readings. You can get this program at: Through The Bible In One Year (palabradehonor.org). You will notice
that the program is set up so you can print it as a booklet.
3.
In prayer with God, your Father, look for and join a
Christian church or congregation where the Word of God is taught based
on the Good News, which are
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ricardo C. Peredo Jaime © 2020
Reading and Meditation on the Word of God
Do these daily readings, and by the end of one year you will have read the
entire Bible.
October 28 2 Thessalonians 2 / Isaiah 27-28 / Psalm 118
2 Thessalonians
2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither
by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive
you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might
be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the
way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.
13 But we are bound to give thanks alway
to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Therefore, brethren,
stand fast, and hold the traditions which
ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
and God, even our Father,
which hath loved us, and hath
given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
Isaiah
27 In that day the LORD with his sore and great
and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent,
even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in
the sea.
2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard
of red wine.
3 I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment:
lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers
and thorns against
me in battle? I would go
through them, I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of my strength,
that he may make peace with me; and
he shall make peace with me.
6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel
shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world
with fruit.
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smote those
that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them
that are slain by him?
8 In measure,
when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth
his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
9 By this therefore shall the iniquity
of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit
to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones
of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the
groves and images shall not stand up.
10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the
calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
11 When the boughs
thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on
fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed
them will shew them no favour.
12 And it shall come
to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off
from the channel of the river unto the stream
of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered
one by one, O ye children of
Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall
be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish
in the land of Assyria, and the
outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD
in
the holy mount at Jerusalem.
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose
glorious beauty is a fading flower,
which are on the head of the fat valleys
of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty
and strong one, which as a tempest
of hail and a destroying
storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth
with the hand.
3 The crown
of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden
under feet:
4 And the glorious
beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower,
and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that
looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts
be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit
of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to
the gate.
7 But they also
have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the
priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he
teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept
must be upon precept, precept
upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and
there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another
tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said,
This is the rest wherewith
ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they
would not hear.
13 But the word of
the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and
be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people
which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have
said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at
agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood
have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line,
and righteousness to the plummet:
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge
of lies, and the waters
shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when
the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by
it.
19 From the time that it goeth
forth it shall take you: for morning
by morning shall it pass
over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the
report.
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself
on it: and the covering
narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work;
and bring to pass
his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be
ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard
from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken,
and hear my
speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods
of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof,
doth he not cast abroad
the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and
the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26
For his God doth instruct
him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches
are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel
turned about upon the cummin;
but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised;
because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it
with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
Psalm
118 O
give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because
his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth
for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy
endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called
upon the LORD in distress:
the LORD
answered me, and set me in a
large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall
I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations
compassed me about:
but in the name of the
LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name
of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed
me about like bees: they are quenched
as the fire of thorns: for in
the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13
Thou hast thrust
sore at me that I might fall:
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength
and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing
and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted:
the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not
die, but live, and declare
the works of the LORD.
Do these daily readings, and by the end of one year you will have read the
entire Bible.
October 28 2 Thessalonians 2 / Isaiah 27-28 / Psalm 118
2 Thessalonians
2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither
by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive
you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might
be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the
way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.
13 But we are bound to give thanks alway
to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Therefore, brethren,
stand fast, and hold the traditions which
ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
and God, even our Father,
which hath loved us, and hath
given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
Isaiah
27 In that day the LORD with his sore and great
and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent,
even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in
the sea.
2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard
of red wine.
3 I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment:
lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers
and thorns against
me in battle? I would go
through them, I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of my strength,
that he may make peace with me; and
he shall make peace with me.
6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel
shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world
with fruit.
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smote those
that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them
that are slain by him?
8 In measure,
when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth
his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
9 By this therefore shall the iniquity
of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit
to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones
of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the
groves and images shall not stand up.
10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the
calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
11 When the boughs
thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on
fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed
them will shew them no favour.
12 And it shall come
to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off
from the channel of the river unto the stream
of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered
one by one, O ye children of
Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall
be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish
in the land of Assyria, and the
outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD
in
the holy mount at Jerusalem.
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose
glorious beauty is a fading flower,
which are on the head of the fat valleys
of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty
and strong one, which as a tempest
of hail and a destroying
storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth
with the hand.
3 The crown
of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden
under feet:
4 And the glorious
beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower,
and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that
looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts
be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit
of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to
the gate.
7 But they also
have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the
priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he
teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept
must be upon precept, precept
upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and
there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another
tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said,
This is the rest wherewith
ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they
would not hear.
13 But the word of
the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and
be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people
which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have
said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at
agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood
have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line,
and righteousness to the plummet:
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge
of lies, and the waters
shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when
the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by
it.
19 From the time that it goeth
forth it shall take you: for morning
by morning shall it pass
over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the
report.
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself
on it: and the covering
narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work;
and bring to pass
his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be
ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard
from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken,
and hear my
speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods
of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof,
doth he not cast abroad
the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and
the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26
For his God doth instruct
him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches
are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel
turned about upon the cummin;
but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised;
because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it
with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
Psalm
118 O
give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because
his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth
for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy
endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called
upon the LORD in distress:
the LORD
answered me, and set me in a
large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall
I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations
compassed me about:
but in the name of the
LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name
of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed
me about like bees: they are quenched
as the fire of thorns: for in
the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13
Thou hast thrust
sore at me that I might fall:
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength
and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing
and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted:
the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not
die, but live, and declare
the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD hath chastened
me sore: but he hath not given me over unto
death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous
shall enter.
21 I will praise thee:
for thou hast heard me, and art become my
salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused
is become the head stone of the corner.
23
This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech
thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed
you out of the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light:
bind the sacrifice
with cords, even unto the
horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will praise
thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
