Is. 37:14–29
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16“O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. 17Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 18It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. 19They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 20Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”
21Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22this is what the Lord says about him:
“‘The virgin daughter Zion
despises you—she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.
23“‘Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?
At the Holy One of Israel!
24Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,
“With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its remotest regions,
its thickest woods.
25I dug wells
and drank water.
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.”’
26 “Certainly you must have heard!
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.
27Their residents are powerless;
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops
when it is scorched by the east wind.
28I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.
29Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose,
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.
(NET Bible)Ps. 17
17:1 A prayer of David.
Lord, consider my just cause.
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.
2Make a just decision on my behalf.
Decide what is right.
3You have scrutinized my inner motives;
you have examined me during the night.
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.
4As for the actions of people—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.
5I carefully obey your commands;
I do not deviate from them.
6I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me!
Hear what I say!
7Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.
8Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9Protect me from the wicked men who attack me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.
10They are calloused;
they speak arrogantly.
11They attack me, now they surround me;
they intend to throw me to the ground.
12He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits,
like a young lion crouching in hidden places.
13Rise up, Lord!
Confront him. Knock him down.
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.
14Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,
from the murderers of this world.
They enjoy prosperity;
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.
15As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.
(NET Bible)John 8:1–11
8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them. 3The experts in the law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death such women. What then do you say?” 6(Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against him.) Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. 7When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight and replied, “Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
9Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10Jesus stood up straight and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]]
(NET Bible)
Luther’s first statements concerning this matter we find in the marginal notes written by him in his personal copy of the Sentences of Lombardus, which, in 1510, as a Sententiarius he was called upon to teach. Here we find statements such as the following: “But you, dear reader, whoever you may be, take this as the word of a simple man: no one has ever yet had the experience that the vapors of the earth have illuminated the heavens, but rather that they hold back the light from the earth. By that I want to say that theology is heaven, or, to put it still better, the kingdom of heaven. Man is the earth, and his speculations are the vapors; now understand the rest and see for what reason there are such great di erences of opinion among the doctors. Note, too, that a swine has never been able to teach Minerva even though it o en imagines that it can.” “All light must come from revelation, the human understanding is unable to understand supernatural matters.” “For since no one has seen them, whatever is added to revelation is certainly nothing but human invention.” “Arguments based on reason determine nothing, but because the Holy Ghost says it is true, it is true.” In connection with a disputed question Luther affirms, “though many famous doctors hold this opinion, yet they do not have Scripture on their side but only arguments of reason. But I have the words of Scripture on my side in this opinion that the soul is the image of God, and so I say with the Apostle, ‘Though an angel from heaven, that is, a doctor of the Church, teaches otherwise let him be anathema!’” (13)
–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.