Thursday 9 August 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 9 August 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 11:1-27

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David
sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the
Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was
walking about on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof
a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to
inquire about the woman. It was reported, 'This is Bathsheba daughter of
Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.' So David sent messengers to fetch
her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying
herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman
conceived; and she sent and told David, 'I am pregnant.'

 So David sent word to Joab, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' And Joab sent
Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the
people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, 'Go
down to your house, and wash your feet.' Uriah went out of the king's
house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept
at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord,
and did not go down to his house. When they told David, 'Uriah did not
go down to his house', David said to Uriah, 'You have just come from a
journey. Why did you not go down to your house?' Uriah said to David,
'The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the
servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my
house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as
your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.' Then David said to Uriah,
'Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.' So Uriah
remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to
eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he
went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did
not go down to his house.

 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of
Uriah. In the letter he wrote, 'Set Uriah in the forefront of the
hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck
down and die.' As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the
place where he knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city
came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among
the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. Then Joab sent
and told David all the news about the fighting; and he instructed the
messenger, 'When you have finished telling the king all the news about
the fighting, then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you,
"Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they
would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did
not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he
died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?" then you shall say,
"Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too." '

 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent
him to tell. The messenger said to David, 'The men gained an advantage
over us, and came out against us in the field; but we drove them back to
the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from
the wall; some of the king's servants are dead; and your servant Uriah
the Hittite is dead also.' David said to the messenger, 'Thus you shall
say to Joab, "Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours
now one and now another; press your attack on the city, and overthrow
it." And encourage him.'

 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made
lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought
her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.
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Acts 19:11-20

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the
handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the
sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.
Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 'I adjure you by the
Jesus whom Paul proclaims.' Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named
Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, 'Jesus
I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?' Then the man with the evil
spirit leapt on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that
they fled out of the house naked and wounded. When this became known to
all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck;
and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. Also many of those who
became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. A number of
those who practised magic collected their books and burned them
publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to
come to fifty thousand silver coins. So the word of the Lord grew
mightily and prevailed.
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Mark 9:2-13

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led
them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on
earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses,
who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they
were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there
came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!' Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only
Jesus.

 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one
about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the
dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this
rising from the dead could mean. Then they asked him, 'Why do the
scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He said to them, 'Elijah is
indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about
the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated
with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him
whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 83, 34

Psalm 83

O God, do not keep silence;
   do not hold your peace or be still, O God! 
Even now your enemies are in tumult;
   those who hate you have raised their heads. 
They lay crafty plans against your people;
   they consult together against those you protect. 
They say, 'Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
   let the name of Israel be remembered no more.' 
They conspire with one accord;
   against you they make a covenant- 
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
   Moab and the Hagrites, 
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
   Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 
Assyria also has joined them;
   they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
          Selah 


Do to them as you did to Midian,
   as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon, 
who were destroyed at En-dor,
   who became dung for the ground. 
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
   all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 
who said, 'Let us take the pastures of God
   for our own possession.' 


O my God, make them like whirling dust,
   like chaff before the wind. 
As fire consumes the forest,
   as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 
so pursue them with your tempest
   and terrify them with your hurricane. 
Fill their faces with shame,
   so that they may seek your name, O Lord. 
Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;
   let them perish in disgrace. 
Let them know that you alone,
   whose name is the Lord,
   are the Most High over all the earth.



Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
   let the humble hear and be glad. 
O magnify the Lord with me,
   and let us exalt his name together. 


I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears. 
Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your faces shall never be ashamed. 
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble. 
The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them. 
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him. 
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want. 
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 


Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 
Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good? 
Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit. 
Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it. 


The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
   and his ears are open to their cry. 
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
   to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
   and rescues them from all their troubles. 
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
   and saves the crushed in spirit. 


Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
   but the Lord rescues them from them all. 
He keeps all their bones;
   not one of them will be broken. 
Evil brings death to the wicked,
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
   none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 85, 86

Psalm 85

Lord, you were favourable to your land;
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
   you pardoned all their sin.
          Selah 
You withdrew all your wrath;
   you turned from your hot anger. 


Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
   and put away your indignation towards us. 
Will you be angry with us for ever?
   Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 
Will you not revive us again,
   so that your people may rejoice in you? 
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
   and grant us your salvation. 


Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
   for he will speak peace to his people,
   to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. 
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
   that his glory may dwell in our land. 


Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
   righteousness and peace will kiss each other. 
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
   and righteousness will look down from the sky. 
The Lord will give what is good,
   and our land will yield its increase. 
Righteousness will go before him,
   and will make a path for his steps.



Psalm 86

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
   for I am poor and needy. 
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
   save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord,
   for to you do I cry all day long. 
Gladden the soul of your servant,
   for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
   abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. 
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
   listen to my cry of supplication. 
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
   for you will answer me. 


There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
   nor are there any works like yours. 
All the nations you have made shall come
   and bow down before you, O Lord,
   and shall glorify your name. 
For you are great and do wondrous things;
   you alone are God. 
Teach me your way, O Lord,
   that I may walk in your truth;
   give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
   and I will glorify your name for ever. 
For great is your steadfast love towards me;
   you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 


O God, the insolent rise up against me;
   a band of ruffians seeks my life,
   and they do not set you before them. 
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
   give your strength to your servant;
   save the child of your serving-maid. 
Show me a sign of your favour,
   so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
   because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
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