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First Reading: 2 Chronicles Chapter 5 and 6
2 Chronicles 5
5:1 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished,
he brought in the things his father David had dedicated-the silver and gold
and all the furnishings-and he placed them in the treasuries of God's temple.
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of
the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of
the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the men of Israel
came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5
and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings
in it. The priests, who were Levites, carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and
the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark,
sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the
inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings
of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark
and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that
their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner
sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.
10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed
in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they
came out of Egypt.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there
had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites
who were musicians-Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives-stood
on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps
and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters
and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to
the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised
their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:
"He is good; his love endures forever."
Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could
not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled
the temple of God.
2 Chronicles 6
6:1 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark
cloud; 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell
forever."
3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around
and blessed them. 4 Then he said:
"Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled
what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5'Since the
day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe
of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor have I chosen
anyone to be the leader over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem
for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'
7 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of
the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because
it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this
in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but
your son, who is your own flesh and blood-he is the one who will build the temple
for my Name.' 10 "The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded
David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised,
and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 11
There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made
with the people of Israel."
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly
of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five
cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the
center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before
the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:
"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth-you
who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly
in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father;
with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it-as
it is today. 16 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my
father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to
have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful
in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.' 17
And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant
David come true. 18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens,
even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have
built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy,
O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your
presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place
of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your
servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and
of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive. 22 "When a man wrongs his neighbor
and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your
altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants,
repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare
the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence. 24 "When your people
Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and
when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before
you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people
Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers. 26
"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people
have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your
name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27 then hear from
heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them
the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an
inheritance. 28 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or
mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their
cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea
is made by any of your people Israel-each one aware of his afflictions and pains,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple- 30 then hear from heaven, your
dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since
you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), 31 so that they will
fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our
fathers. 32 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel
but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty
hand and your outstretched arm-when he comes and prays toward this temple, 33
then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks
of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you,
as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears
your Name. 34 "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever
you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and
the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer
and their plea, and uphold their cause. 36 "When they sin against you-for
there is no one who does not sin-and you become angry with them and give them
over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and
if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and
repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned,
we have done wrong and acted wickedly'; 38 and if they turn back to you with
all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken,
and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen
and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your
dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And
forgive your people, who have sinned against you. 40 "Now, my God, may
your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
41 "Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the
ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
may your saints rejoice in your goodness. 42 O LORD God, do not reject your
anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant."
Psalms 110
110:1 Of David. A psalm.
The LORD says to my Lord:"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."
2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;you will rule in the midst
of your enemies. 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle.Arrayed
in holy majesty,from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind:"You are a priest forever,in
the order of Melchizedek."
5 The Lord is at your right hand;he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of
the whole earth. 7 He will drink from a brook beside the way;therefore he will
lift up his head.
Psalm 111
111:1
Praise the LORD.
I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in
the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the LORD;they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,giving them the lands of other
nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;all his precepts are
trustworthy. 8 They are steadfast for ever and ever,done in faithfulness and
uprightness. 9 He provided redemption for his people;he ordained his covenant
forever holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;all who follow his precepts
have good understanding.To him belongs eternal praise.
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