The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

December 16, 2021

December 15, 2021 December 17, 2021

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

Isaiah 32:1-20

The Righteous Kingdom
321See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and officials will govern with justice.
2Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water for a dry place,
like the shade of a massive cliff in a parched land.
3The eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4Hasty hearts[] will gain understanding,
and stammering tongues will speak clearly.
5The fool will no longer be called noble,
nor will rogues be treated like respectable people.[]
6The fool speaks folly,
and his heart plots evil:
to do what is ungodly,
to tell lies about the Lord,
to deny food to the hungry,
and to refuse even one drink for the thirsty.
7The rogue's ways are evil.
He plots evil to ruin the humble with lies,
even when the poor speak with justice.
8But the noble man plans noble deeds,
and by noble deeds he stands.
Judgment and Restoration
9Get up, you complacent women, and listen!
You carefree girls, hear what I have to say!
10In a little more than a year, you carefree women will be worried,
because the grape harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
11Tremble, you complacent women!
Be worried, you carefree girls!
Strip yourselves naked,
and put sackcloth around your waist.
12Beat your breasts in mourning
for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines,
13because my people's land will yield only thorns and briers.
Weep for all the houses where you partied,
in the city where you celebrated.
14Then the fortress will be abandoned.
The crowded city will be deserted.
The citadel and the watchtower will become
rugged ruins[] for a long time,
enjoyed by wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks,
15until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness will live in the fertile field.
17The result of righteousness will be peace,
and righteousness will bring lasting tranquility and security.
18My people will live in a peaceful place,
in secure dwellings,
and in quiet resting places.
19Even if hail destroys the forest,
or if the city is totally leveled,
20how blessed you will be,
as you sow seed beside streams,
and let your cattle and donkeys run free.

Revelation 4:1-11

John's Vision of God
41After these things I looked, and there was a door opened in heaven! And the first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.” 2Immediately I was in spirit. And look! A throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. 3The one who was sitting there looked like a jasper stone and a ruby.[] Around the throne there was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
4Also around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and sitting on those thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white garments, with gold crowns on their heads. 5Out of the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and crashes of thunder. In front of the throne seven flaming lamps were burning, which are the seven spirits of God. 6Also in front of the throne was something resembling a glass sea, which was like crystal.
In the middle, near the throne and around the throne, there were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8Each one of the four living creatures had six wings, and the wings were full of eyes all around and underneath.[] Day and night, without pause, they keep saying:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
who was and who is and who is coming.
9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders bow down before him who sits on the throne. They worship the one who lives forever and ever and lay down their crowns in front of his throne as they say:
11Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive the glory and the honor and the power,
for you have created all things,
and because of your will they existed and were created.