December 5, Saturday – Psalms 20, 21:1–7(8–13), 110:1–5(6–7), 116, 117; Amos 5:18–27; Jude 17–25; Matthew 22:15–22
(ESV Daily Office Readings Online)
Jesus came to go to the cross. This Advent may we remember those who are bearing the cross for bearing His name. May we pray thoughts from today’s assigned Scriptures on their behalf and put ourselves in their place as we pray.
May we give to God what is God’s. For our lives are not our own, we have been bought with a price. (Matthew 22:21 also I Cor. 6:19 & 20)
May the Lord answer us when we are in distress; may he protect us, send us help and grant us support.
May he remember our sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips that confess his name (also Hebrews 13:15).
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed…with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in [military], but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Surely the Lord has granted us unending blessings and made us glad with the joy of his presence. (From Psalms 20 & 21)
May we rule in the midst of your enemies as willing troops on the day of battle, arrayed in holy splendor. (From Psalm 110)
We love the Lord, for he heard our voice, our cry for mercy.
The cords of death entangled us, the anguish of the grave came over us; we were overcome by distress and sorrow. Then we called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save us!”
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary; when we are brought low, he saves us. For you, Lord, have delivered us from death, our eyes from tears, our feet from stumbling, that we may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (From Psalm 116)
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. (From Psalm 117)
May we build ourselves up in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. May we keep ourselves in God’s love as we wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us to eternal life.
To him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 20, 21, 24, 25)
Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24)
This we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as we wait for his coming in victory!
Image by Mathieu Jarry (used by permission via Creative Commons).
