Opening the Seven Seals

Revelation 6 At the same time that I saw the Lamb open the first of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures shout with a voice like thunder. It said, "Come out!" ²Then I saw a white horse. Its rider carried a bow and was given a crown. He had already won some victories, and he went out to win more.
³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come out!" ⁴Then another horse came out. It was fiery red. And its rider was given the power to take away all peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was also given a big sword.
⁵When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come out!" Then I saw a black horse, and its rider had a balance scale in one hand. ⁶I heard what sounded like a voice from somewhere among the four living creatures. It said, "A quart of wheat will cost you a whole day's wages! Three quarts of barley will cost you a day's wages too. But don't ruin the olive oil or the wine."
⁷When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come out!" ⁸Then I saw a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Death's Kingdom followed behind. They were given power over one fourth of the earth, and they could kill its people with swords, famines, diseases, and wild animals.
⁹When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of everyone who had been killed for speaking God's message and telling about their faith. ¹⁰They shouted, "Master, you are holy and faithful! How long will it be before you judge and punish the people of this earth who killed us?"
¹¹Then each of those who had been killed was given a white robe and told to rest for a little while. They had to wait until the complete number of the Lord's other servants and followers would be killed.
¹²When I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, I looked and saw a great earthquake. The sun turned as dark as sackcloth, and the moon became as red as blood. ¹³The stars in the sky fell to earth, just like figs shaken loose by a windstorm. ¹⁴Then the sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all mountains and islands were moved from their places.
¹⁵The kings of the earth, its famous people, and its military leaders hid in caves or behind rocks on the mountains. They hid there together with the rich and the powerful and with all the slaves and free people. ¹⁶Then they shouted to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us! Hide us from the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb. ¹⁷That terrible day has come! God and the Lamb will show their anger, and who can face it?"

Celebrating the Festival of Shelters

Nehemiah 8 ¹³On the second day of the seventh month, the leaders of all the family groups came together with the priests and the Levites, so Ezra could teach them the Law ¹⁴that the LORD had given to Moses. They learned from the Law that the people of Israel were to live in shelters when they celebrated the festival in the seventh month of the year. ¹⁵They also learned that they were to go into the woods and gather branches of leafy trees such as olives, myrtles, and palms for making these shelters.
¹⁶So the people gathered branches and made shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the courtyard of the temple, and in the open areas around the Water Gate and Ephraim Gate. ¹⁷Everyone who had returned from Babylonia built shelters. They lived in them and joyfully celebrated the Festival of Shelters for the first time since the days of Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸On each of the first seven days of the festival, Ezra read to the people from God's Law. Then on the eighth day, everyone gathered for worship, just as the Law had said they must.

The People Confess Their Sins

Nehemiah 9 On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the people of Israel went without eating, and they dressed in sackcloth and threw dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. ²They refused to let foreigners join them, as they met to confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. ³For three hours they stood and listened to the Law of the LORD their God, and then for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD.
⁴Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the special platform for the Levites and prayed aloud to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said:
"Stand and shout praises to your LORD,
the eternal God!
Praise his wonderful name,
though he is greater than words can express."

The People Pray

⁶You alone are the LORD, Creator of the heavens
and all the stars,
Creator of the earth and those who live on it,
Creator of the ocean and all its creatures.
You are the source of life, praised by the stars
that fill the heavens.
⁷You are the LORD our God, the one who chose Abram--
you brought him from Ur in Babylonia
and named him Abraham.
⁸Because he was faithful,
you made an agreement to give his descendants
the land of the Canaanites and Hittites,
of the Amorites and Perizzites,
and of the Jebusites and Girgashites.
Now you have kept your promise, just as you always do.

⁹When our ancestors were in Egypt,
you saw their suffering;
when they were at the Red Sea,
you heard their cry for help.
¹⁰You knew that the King of Egypt
and his officials and his nation
had mistreated your people.
So you worked fearsome miracles against the Egyptians
and earned a reputation that still remains.
¹¹You divided the deep sea, and your people walked through
on dry land.
But you tossed their enemies in, and they sank down
like a heavy stone.
¹²Each day you led your people with a thick cloud,
and at night you showed the way with a flaming fire.
¹³At Sinai you came down from heaven,
and you gave your people good laws and teachings
that are fair and honest.
¹⁴You commanded them to respect your holy Sabbath,
and you instructed your servant Moses
to teach them your laws.
¹⁵When they were hungry, you sent bread from heaven,
and when they were thirsty,
you let water flow from a rock.
Then you commanded them to capture the land
that you had solemnly promised.

^*16Our stubborn ancestors refused to obey--
they forgot about the miracles you had worked for them,
and they were determined to return to Egypt
and become slaves again.
¹⁷But, our God, you are merciful and quick to forgive;
you are loving, kind, and very patient.
So you never turned away from them--
¹⁸not even when they made an idol shaped like a calf
and insulted you by claiming,
"This is the god who rescued us from Egypt."

¹⁹Because of your great mercy,
you never abandoned them in the desert.
And you always guided them
with a cloud by day and a fire at night.
²⁰Your gentle Spirit instructed them,
and you gave them manna to eat
and water to drink.
²¹You took good care of them, and for forty years
they never lacked a thing.
Their shoes didn't wear out,
and their feet were never swollen.

²²You let them conquer kings and take their land,
including King Sihon of Heshbon
and King Og of Bashan.
²³You brought them into the land
that you had promised their ancestors,
and you blessed their nation with people
that outnumbered the stars in the sky.

²⁴Then their descendants conquered the land.
You helped them defeat the kings and nations
and treat their enemies however they wished.
²⁵They captured strong cities and rich farmland;
they took furnished houses, as well as cisterns,
vineyards, olive orchards, and numerous fruit trees.
They ate till they were satisfied,
and they celebrated your abundant blessings.

²⁶In spite of this, they rebelled and disobeyed your laws.
They killed your prophets,
who warned them to turn back to you,
and they cursed your name.
²⁷So you handed them over to their enemies,
who treated them terribly.
But in their sufferings, they begged you to help.
From heaven you listened to their prayers
and because of your great mercy,
you sent leaders to rescue them.

²⁸But when they were at peace, they would turn against you,
and you would hand them over to their enemies.
Then they would beg for help, and because you are merciful,
you rescued them over and over again.
²⁹You warned them to turn back
and discover true life by obeying your laws.
But they stubbornly refused and continued to sin.
³⁰For years, you were patient, and your Spirit warned them
with messages spoken by your prophets.
Still they refused to listen,
and you handed them over to their enemies.
³¹But you are merciful and kind,
and so you never forgot them
or let them be destroyed.

³²Our God, you are powerful, fearsome, and faithful,
always true to your word.
So please keep in mind the terrible sufferings
of our people, kings, leaders, priests, and prophets,
from the time Assyria ruled until this very day.
³³You have always been fair
when you punished us for our sins.

³⁴Our kings, leaders, and priests
have never obeyed your commands
or heeded your warnings.
³⁵You blessed them with a kingdom
and with an abundance of rich, fertile land,
but they refused to worship you or turn from their evil.
³⁶Now we are slaves in this fruitful land
you gave to our ancestors.
³⁷Its plentiful harvest is taken by kings you placed over us
because of our sins.
Our suffering is unbearable,
because they do as they wish to us and our livestock.

Psalm 101
[A psalm by David.]
A King and His Promises

¹I will sing to you, LORD!
I will celebrate your kindness and your justice.
²Please help me learn to do the right thing,
and I will be honest and fair in my own kingdom.

³I refuse to be corrupt
or to take part in anything crooked,
⁴and I won't be dishonest or deceitful.

⁵Anyone who spreads gossip will be silenced,
and no one who is conceited will be my friend.

⁶I will find trustworthy people to serve as my advisors,
and only an honest person will serve as an official.

⁷No one who cheats or lies
will have a position in my royal court.
⁸Each morning I will silence any lawbreakers I find
in the countryside or in the city of the LORD.