a thread opens
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me: you are my help and my deliverer; make no delay, O my God.
The Vigil
Today’s scroll, one verse at a time — each linked to the last by the cross-references rather than by any model of you. The same vigil for everyone, and a different one tomorrow.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.
from Psalms 40:17
Our soul waits for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
from Hebrews 13:6 · a strong link
A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
from Psalms 33:20
a thread opens
Then Moses said to Aaron, This is it that the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
from Leviticus 10:3
And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
from Exodus 14:4
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
from Exodus 9:16 · a strong link
The LORD has made all things for himself: yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
from Romans 9:17
What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
from Proverbs 16:4 · a strong link
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
from Romans 9:22 · a strong link
a thread opens
Now to him that is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
from Jude 1:24
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
from Hebrews 13:20 · a strong link
Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
from Ezekiel 37:26 · a strong link
And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said in this way, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
from Isaiah 55:3 · a strong link
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him.
from Acts 13:34
a thread opens
Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Acacia to Gilgal; that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.
from II Peter 2:15
And the LORD said to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
from Micah 6:5
And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach to us:
from Joshua 5:9
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in it.
from Luke 2:14
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD has comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
from Psalms 69:34 · a strong link
For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
from Isaiah 49:13
a thread opens
And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great reward.
from Luke 18:7
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect to the recompense of the reward.
from Hebrews 10:35 · a strong link
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
from Hebrews 11:26
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
from Philippians 3:7
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.
from Matthew 16:26
And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;
from Job 2:4
a thread opens
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Because your loving devotion is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
from Psalms 73:25 · a strong link
Hear me, O LORD; for your loving devotion is good: turn to me according to the multitude of your tender mercies.
from Psalms 63:3 · a strong link
Turn you to me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
from Psalms 69:16
O turn to me, and have mercy upon me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.
from Psalms 25:16
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Psalms 40:17 along this chain. Today’s own vigil is laid separately.
Each verse follows the one before it along the chain a study Bible draws — a century old, public, and compiled by people arguing about Scripture rather than about how long you stay. Every card says which verse it came from and opens the chapter it belongs to. Today’s vigil is the same for every reader and is worked out from the date alone, so there is no account, no counter, and nothing stored in your browser or ours.
The text is the Lantern Modern Standard. The links are openbible.info’s cross-reference set (CC BY), the same apparatus behind the reader’s Echoes drawer. Read a whole book · Today’s table