Home > Reading > Daily Reading – April 26, 2019

Proverbs 8:22–36 (ESV)

22  “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.
23  Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24  When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25  Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26  before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
27  When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28  when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29  when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30  then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31  rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.

32  “And now, O sons, listen to me:
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33  Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
34  Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
35  For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,
36  but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who hate me love death.”

Psalm 107 (ESV)

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;

hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!

For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,

11  for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.

13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.

15  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16  For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17  Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18  they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.

19  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

20  He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.

21  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23  Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;

24  they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.

25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;

27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.

28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

29  He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30  Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.

31  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32  Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,

34  a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35  He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.

36  And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;

37  they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.

38  By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40  he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

41  but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.

42  The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Hebrews 11:1–12 (ESV)

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

Wilhelm Walther truthfully says: “It never entered the mind of Luther to deny all authority in the Church. Rather, by dethroning the mass of false authorities to which men bowed during the Catholic period, he enthroned another authority as the only one duly authenticated. Indeed, only to this end did he militate against the infallibility of the Church Fathers, Popes, Councils, and universities with such force, to make room for the ‘Empress’ who alone is worthy of all sovereignty, the Holy Scripture. Anyone to whom this must rst be proved lacks even elementary knowledge in the eld of the history of the Reformation. (19)

–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.

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