Old Testament: Job 38:1-7, (34-41)

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ²“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone ⁷when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? [³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? ³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?³⁷Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, ³⁸when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together? ³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? ⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?]

Psalm: Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul; *
       O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
       you are clothed with majesty and splendor.
² You wrap yourself with light as with a cloak *
       and spread out the heavens like a curtain.
³ You lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above; *
       you make the clouds your chariot;
       you ride on the wings of the wind.
⁴ You make the winds your messengers *
       and flames of fire your servants.
⁵ You have set the earth upon its foundations, *
       so that it never shall move at any time.
⁶ You covered it with the Deep as with a mantle; *
       the waters stood higher than the mountains.
⁷ At your rebuke they fled; *
       at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.
⁸ They went up into the hills and down to the valleys beneath, *
       to the places you had appointed for them.
⁹ You set the limits that they should not pass; *
       they shall not again cover the earth.
²⁵ O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
       in wisdom you have made them all;
       the earth is full of your creatures.
^37b Hallelujah!

Old Testament: Isaiah 53:4-12

⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. ¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm: Psalm 91:9-16

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your refuge, *
       and the Most High your habitation,
¹⁰ There shall no evil happen to you, *
       neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
       to keep you in all your ways.
¹² They shall bear you in their hands, *
       lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
       you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
¹⁴ Because he is bound to me in love,
   therefore will I deliver him; *
       I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
       I am with him in trouble;
       I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him, *
       and show him my salvation.