Saturday 4 August 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 4 August 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 5:22-6:11

Once again the Philistines came up, and were spread out in the valley of
Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, he said, 'You shall not go up;
go round to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.
When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees,
then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to
strike down the army of the Philistines.' David did just as the Lord had
commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way
to Gezer. 
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to
bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the
Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of
God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which
was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the
new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David
and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their
might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and
cymbals. 
When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his
hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The
anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there
because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the
ark of God. David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an
outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, 'How can the ark of the
Lord come into my care?' So David was unwilling to take the ark of the
Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the
house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the
house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months; and the Lord blessed
Obed-edom and all his household.
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Acts 17:16-34

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to
see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with
the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day
with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers debated with him. Some said, 'What does this babbler want
to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign
divinities.' (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus
and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus
and asked him, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are
presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know
what it means.' Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there
would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. 
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, 'Athenians, I see
how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the
city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among
them an altar with the inscription, "To an unknown god." What therefore
you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the
world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not
live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as
though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life
and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to
inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence
and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they
would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him-though
indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "In him we live and move
and have our being"; as even some of your own poets have said,
"For we too are his offspring." 
Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is
like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and
imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human
ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he
has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness
by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to
all by raising him from the dead.' 
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but
others said, 'We will hear you again about this.' At that point Paul
left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including
Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with
them. ******************************************************************
Mark 8:1-10

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to
eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 'I have compassion for
the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have
nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will
faint on the way-and some of them have come from a great distance.' His
disciples replied, 'How can one feed these people with bread here in the
desert?' He asked them, 'How many loaves do you have?' They said,
'Seven.' Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he
took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave
them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the
crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he
ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled;
and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now
there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And
immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the
district of Dalmanutha.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 75, 76

Psalm 75

We give thanks to you, O God;
   we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds. 


At the set time that I appoint
   I will judge with equity. 
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
   it is I who keep its pillars steady.
          Selah 
I say to the boastful, 'Do not boast',
   and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horn; 
do not lift up your horn on high,
   or speak with insolent neck.' 


For not from the east or from the west
   and not from the wilderness comes lifting up; 
but it is God who executes judgement,
   putting down one and lifting up another. 
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
   with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
   and all the wicked of the earth
   shall drain it down to the dregs. 
But I will rejoice for ever;
   I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 


All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
   but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.



Psalm 76

In Judah God is known,
   his name is great in Israel. 
His abode has been established in Salem,
   his dwelling-place in Zion. 
There he broke the flashing arrows,
   the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
          Selah 


Glorious are you, more majestic
   than the everlasting mountains. 
The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;
   they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
   was able to lift a hand. 
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
   both rider and horse lay stunned. 


But you indeed are awesome!
   Who can stand before you
   when once your anger is roused? 
>From the heavens you uttered judgement;
   the earth feared and was still 
when God rose up to establish judgement,
   to save all the oppressed of the earth.
          Selah 


Human wrath serves only to praise you,
   when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you. 
Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;
   let all who are around him bring gifts
   to the one who is awesome, 
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
   who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 23, 27

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; 
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name's sake. 


Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff-
   they comfort me. 


You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.



Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid? 


When evildoers assail me
   to devour my flesh-
my adversaries and foes-
   they shall stumble and fall. 


Though an army encamp against me,
   my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
   yet I will be confident. 


One thing I asked of the Lord,
   that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple. 


For he will hide me in his shelter
   in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
   he will set me high on a rock. 


Now my head is lifted up
   above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
   sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 


Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
   be gracious to me and answer me! 
'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!'
   Your face, Lord, do I seek. 
   Do not hide your face from me. 


Do not turn your servant away in anger,
   you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
   O God of my salvation! 
If my father and mother forsake me,
   the Lord will take me up. 


Teach me your way, O Lord,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies. 
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they are breathing out violence. 


I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord!
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