1 Chron. 16:1–36
16:1 They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. 2When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord’s name. 3He then handed out to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. 4He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel. 5Asaph was the leader and Zechariah second-in-command, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They were to play stringed instruments, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of God’s covenant.
7That day David first gave to Asaph and his colleagues this song of thanks to the Lord.
8Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
9Sing to him! Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
10Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually!
12Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,
13O children of Israel, God’s servant,
you descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen ones!
14He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.
15Remember continually his covenantal decree,
the promise he made to a thousand generations—
16the promise he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac!
17He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,
18saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
19When they were few in number,
just a very few, and foreign residents within it,
20they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.
21He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
22saying, “Don’t touch my anointed ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
23Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Announce every day how he delivers.
24Tell the nations about his splendor,
tell all the nations about his miraculous deeds.
25For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise,
he is more awesome than all gods.
26For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27Majestic splendor emanates from him,
he is the source of strength and joy.
28Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!
29Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves!
Bring an offering and enter his presence!
Worship the Lord in holy attire!
30Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is established, it cannot be moved.
31Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy!
Let the nations say, “The Lord reigns!”
32Let the sea and everything in it shout!
Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
33Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth!
34Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.
35Say this prayer: “Deliver us, O God who delivers us!
Gather us! Rescue us from the nations!
Then we will give thanks to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.”
36May the Lord God of Israel be praised,
in the future and forevermore.
Then all the people said, “We agree! Praise the Lord.”
(NET Bible)Ps. 119:17–24
119:17 ג (Gimel)
Be kind to your servant.
Then I will live and keep your instructions.
18Open my eyes so I can truly see
the marvelous things in your law.
19I am a resident foreigner in this land.
Do not hide your commands from me.
20I desperately long to know
your regulations at all times.
21You reprimand arrogant people.
Those who stray from your commands are doomed.
22Spare me shame and humiliation,
for I observe your rules.
23Though rulers plot and slander me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24Yes, I find delight in your rules;
they give me guidance.
(NET Bible)Mark 15:1–20
15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He replied, “You say so.” 3Then the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. 4So Pilate asked him again, “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” 5But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
6During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, whomever they requested. 7A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. 8Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. 9So Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 10(For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas instead. 12So Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” 13They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.
16So the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. 17They put a purple cloak on him and after braiding a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 20When they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
(NET Bible)
No matter how emphatically Luther emphasized the inerrancy and the consistency of the original text of Holy Scripture as the work of the Holy Ghost, he is also, on the other hand, convinced of the personal cooperation of the original authors. They are not, in his opinion, mechanical instruments and dead machines, mere amanuenses who set down on paper only what was dictated to them by the Spirit of God. He regarded them rather as independent instruments of the Spirit who spoke their faith, their heart, their thoughts; who put their entire will and feeling into the words to such an extent that from what Luther reads in each case he draws conclusions concerning the character and the temperament of the authors. So [according to Luther] the Prophet Joel reveals himself in his writing as a “gracious and gentle man, who does not scold and censure like the other prophets but implores and bewails.” Amos, on the other hand, is “violent, scolding almost all the way through his book, so that he is well called, Amos, that is a burden or what is burdensome and vexatious”; and he explains this as being due to his calling and from the fact that he was sent as a “stranger” from the Kingdom of Judah to the Kingdom of Israel, for, he continues, “because he is a shepherd and not one of the order of the prophets, as he says in the seventh chapter, moreover, he goes from the branch of Judah, from Tekoa, into the Kingdom of Israel and preaches there as a stranger.” Of Jeremiah, however, Luther says that he is always afraid that he censures too much, for which reason he compares him with Philip Melanchthon. In Paul he observes the deepest emotion because of his writings and can say of his words, “these words are violent above mea- sure, from which it is easy to see that he was much more violently moved than he was able to express in words.” Yes, he adds, “So it has come about that St. Paul under the influence of his intense thought could not control his own word so well, and his speech has become somewhat disordered and peculiar.” (60)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.