Scripture Reading – Isaiah 11:1-11 - NIV                         

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 

¹¹ In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 - NIV                                    

Of Solomon.

¹ Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.

² May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.

³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.

⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.

⁵ May he endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.

⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.

⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

¹⁸ Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.Amen and Amen.

Note: All Scriptures are New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted