20th December

¹ Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,² Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.³ Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?⁴ How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?⁵ Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.⁶ How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

¹ But Job answered and said,² How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?³ How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?⁴ To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?⁵ Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.⁶ Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.⁷ He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.⁸ He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.⁹ He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.¹⁰ He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.¹¹ The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.¹² He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.¹³ By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.¹⁴ Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

¹ Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,² As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;³ All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;⁴ My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.⁵ God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.⁶ My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.⁷ Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.⁸ For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?⁹ Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?¹⁰ Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?¹¹ I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.¹² Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?¹³ This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.¹⁴ If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.¹⁵ Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.¹⁶ Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;¹⁷ He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.¹⁸ He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.¹⁹ The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.²⁰ Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.²¹ The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.²² For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.²³ Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

¹ I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.² Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.³ And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,⁴ And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:⁵ For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.⁶ Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.⁷ Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.⁸ For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.⁹ For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.¹⁰ Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.¹¹ And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.¹² And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.¹³ Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

¹ And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.² And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?³ Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.⁴ And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.⁵ And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.⁶ And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,⁷ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.⁸ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.⁹ For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.¹⁰ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

¹ Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:² Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.³ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.⁴ For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.⁵ I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.⁶ And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.⁷ Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.⁸ Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.¹⁰ But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.¹¹ Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.¹² These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;¹³ Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.¹⁴ And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,¹⁵ To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.¹⁶ These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.¹⁷ But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;¹⁸ How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.¹⁹ These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.²⁰ But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.²² And of some have compassion, making a difference:²³ And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.²⁴ Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,²⁵ To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.