Old Testament: Exodus 32:1-14

¹ When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ² Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” ⁶ They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; ⁸ they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” ⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. ¹⁰ Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”

¹¹ But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Psalm: Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

¹ Hallelujah!
  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *
       for his mercy endures for ever.
² Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord *
       or show forth all his praise?
³ Happy are those who act with justice *
       and always do what is right!
⁴ Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, *
       and visit me with your saving help;
⁵ That I may see the prosperity of your elect
  and be glad with the gladness of your people, *
       that I may glory with your inheritance.
⁶ We have sinned as our forebears did; *
       we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
¹⁹ Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb *
       and worshiped a molten image;
²⁰ And so they exchanged their Glory *
       for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
²¹ They forgot God their Savior, *
       who had done great things in Egypt,
²² Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, *
       and fearful things at the Red Sea.
²³ So he would have destroyed them,
   had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, *
       to turn away his wrath from consuming them.

Old Testament: Isaiah 25:1-9

¹O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. ²For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. ³Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. ⁴For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, ⁵the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.

⁶On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. ⁷And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. ⁸Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

⁹It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Psalm: Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd; *
       I shall not be in want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures *
       and leads me beside still waters.
³ He revives my soul *
       and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.
⁴ Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
  I shall fear no evil; *
       for you are with me;
       your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
       you have anointed my head with oil,
       and my cup is running over.
⁶ Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
       and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.