Day 262 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 147:1–11

¹Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and lovely to praise Him! ²The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel. ³He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴He determines the number of the stars; He calls them each by name. ⁵Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit. ⁶The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground. ⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music on the harp to our God, ⁸who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills. ⁹He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call. ¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man. ¹¹The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

New Testament·2 Corinthians 3

¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. ⁴Such confidence before God is ours through Christ. ⁵Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God. ⁶And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. ⁷Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness! ¹⁰Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures! ¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. ¹⁵And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Old Testament·Ecclesiastes 11–12; Song of Solomon 1–2

¹Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. ²Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land. ³If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. ⁴He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap. ⁵As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. ⁶Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper. ⁷Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. ⁸So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile. ⁹Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. ¹⁰So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

12Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,” ²before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain, ³on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly, ⁴when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint, ⁵when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels— for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. ⁶Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, ⁷before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ⁸“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!” ⁹Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. ¹⁰The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd. ¹²And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. ¹³When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

1This is Solomon’s Song of Songs. ²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. ³The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you. ⁴Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. ⁵(4) We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. ⁶(4) It is only right that they adore you. (5) I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. (6) Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected. ⁷Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions? ⁸If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. ⁹I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. ¹⁰Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. ¹¹We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with beads of silver. ¹²While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. ¹³My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. ¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi. ¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves. ¹⁶How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed. ¹⁷The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.

2I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. ²Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens. ³Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. ⁴He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love. ⁵Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. ⁶His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. ⁷O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right. ⁸Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. ⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. ¹⁰My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one. ¹¹For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. ¹²The flowers have appeared in the countryside; the season of singing has come, and the cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land. ¹³The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.” ¹⁴O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely. ¹⁵Catch for us the foxes— the little foxes that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in bloom. ¹⁶My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies. ¹⁷Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.