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Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD without
wavering.
Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.
I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence,
and go around your altar, O LORD,
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
O LORD, I love the house in which you
dwell,
and the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
those in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the
LORD.
Psalm 26
The LORD GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens —
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The LORD GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the
beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
The LORD GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the LORD GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
Who among you fears the LORD
and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the LORD
and relies upon his God?
But all of you are kindlers of fire,
lighters of firebrands.
Walk in the flame of your fire,
and among the brands that you have kindled!
This is what you shall have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
Isaiah 50:4-11
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while
you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you
over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown
into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have
paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:25, 26
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if
another member of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not
seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
Matthew 18:21-22
"If another member of the church sins
against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are
alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But
if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so
that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the
church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let
such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell
you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you,
if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done
for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
in my name, I am there among them."
Matthew 18:15-19
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need
to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain
city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for
people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and
saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he
refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God
and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by
continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what
the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen
ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping
them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.
Luke 18:1-8
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his
glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the
goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand,
'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry
and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave
me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and
you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was
it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you
something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and
welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we
saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer
them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of
these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will
say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I
was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me
nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked
and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not
visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw
you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I
tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life."
Matthew 25:31-46
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his
custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was
given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor."
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to
the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were
fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Luke 4:16-21
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