a thread opens
For he shall deliver the needy when he cries; the poor also, and him that has no helper.
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.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
from Psalms 72:12
Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
from Luke 4:18
My people, go out of the midst of her, and deliver you every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
from Isaiah 52:2
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.
I was mute, I opened not my mouth; because you did it.
from Leviticus 10:3
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
from Psalms 39:9
Then Jesus said to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?
from II Samuel 16:10
Saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.
from John 18:11
And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
from Luke 22:42
For this thing I begged the Lord three times, that it might depart from me.
from Matthew 26:44
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,
But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.
from Jude 1:24
Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
from I Peter 4:13 · a strong link
From now on let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
from II Corinthians 4:10
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and complete what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
from Galatians 6:17
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
from Colossians 1:24
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
He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Look, there has a people come out from Egypt: look, they cover the face of the earth, and they remain opposite me:
from II Peter 2:15
Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.
from Numbers 22:5
And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
from Joshua 13:22
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?
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
from Luke 18:7
Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
from Jeremiah 20:11 · a strong link
But, O LORD of hosts, that judge righteously, that try the inmost thoughts and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them: for to you have I revealed my cause.
from Jeremiah 17:18
And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the inmost thoughts and hearts: and I will give to every one of you according to your works.
from Jeremiah 11:20
And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
from Revelation of John 2:23 · a strong link
And they prayed, and said, You, Lord, which know the hearts of all men, show whether of these two you have chosen,
from Romans 8:27
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.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
from Acts 20:24
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cling to the Lord.
from I Peter 5:12 · a strong link
And from there sailed to Antioch, from where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
from Acts 11:23
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but to the Jews only.
from Acts 14:26
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Psalms 72:12 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