Friday 10 August 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 10 August 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 12:1-14

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent
Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, 'There were two men in
a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many
flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb,
which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with
his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup,
and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came
a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own
flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he
took the poor man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come
to him.' Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said
to Nathan, 'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to
die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and
because he had no pity.'

 Nathan said to David, 'You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of
Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand
of Saul; I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into
your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that
had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you
despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have
struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to
be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now
therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have
despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your
wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from
within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and
give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the
sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this
thing before all Israel, and before the sun.' David said to Nathan, 'I
have sinned against the Lord.' Nathan said to David, 'Now the Lord has
put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed
you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall
die.'
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Acts 19:21-41

Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the
Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to
Jerusalem. He said, 'After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.' So
he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he
himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.

 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A
man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis,
brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together,
with the workers of the same trade, and said, 'Men, you know that we get
our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in
Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and
drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with
hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours
may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess
Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that
brought all Asia and the world to worship her.'

 When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, 'Great is Artemis
of the Ephesians!' The city was filled with the confusion; and people
rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and
Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's travelling-companions. Paul
wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even
some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent
him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile,
some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in
confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had
pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a
defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew,
for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, 'Great is Artemis of
the Ephesians!' But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he
said, 'Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the
city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of
the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied,
you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men
here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If
therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against
anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring
charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want
to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in
danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that
we can give to justify this commotion.' When he had said this, he
dismissed the assembly.
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Mark 9:14-29

When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and
some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were
immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He
asked them, 'What are you arguing about with them?' Someone from the
crowd answered him, 'Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that
makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him
down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked
your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.' He answered
them, 'You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you?
How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.' And they
brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it threw
the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about,
foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, 'How long has this been
happening to him?' And he said, 'From childhood. It has often cast him
into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to
do anything, have pity on us and help us.' Jesus said to him, 'If you
are able!-All things can be done for the one who believes.' Immediately
the father of the child cried out, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' When
Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean
spirit, saying to it, 'You spirit that keep this boy from speaking and
hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!'
After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy
was like a corpse, so that most of them said, 'He is dead.' But Jesus
took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When
he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, 'Why could
we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'This kind can come out only
through prayer.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 88

Psalm 88

O Lord, God of my salvation,
   when, at night, I cry out in your presence, 
let my prayer come before you;
   incline your ear to my cry. 


For my soul is full of troubles,
   and my life draws near to Sheol. 
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
   I am like those who have no help, 
like those forsaken among the dead,
   like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
   for they are cut off from your hand. 
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
   in the regions dark and deep. 
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
   and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
          Selah 


You have caused my companions to shun me;
   you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 
   my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O Lord;
   I spread out my hands to you. 
Do you work wonders for the dead?
   Do the shades rise up to praise you?
          Selah 
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
   or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
   or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness? 


But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
   in the morning my prayer comes before you. 
O Lord, why do you cast me off?
   Why do you hide your face from me? 
Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
   I suffer your terrors; I am desperate. 
Your wrath has swept over me;
   your dread assaults destroy me. 
They surround me like a flood all day long;
   from all sides they close in on me. 
You have caused friend and neighbour to shun me;
   my companions are in darkness.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 91, 92

Psalm 91

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
   who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, 
will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress;
   my God, in whom I trust.' 
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
   and from the deadly pestilence; 
he will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 
You will not fear the terror of the night,
   or the arrow that flies by day, 
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
   or the destruction that wastes at noonday. 


A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you. 
You will only look with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked. 


Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
   the Most High your dwelling-place, 
no evil shall befall you,
   no scourge come near your tent. 


For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways. 
On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
   the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 


Those who love me, I will deliver;
   I will protect those who know my name. 
When they call to me, I will answer them;
   I will be with them in trouble,
   I will rescue them and honour them. 
With long life I will satisfy them,
   and show them my salvation.



Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
   to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
   and your faithfulness by night, 
to the music of the lute and the harp,
   to the melody of the lyre. 
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
   at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 


How great are your works, O Lord!
   Your thoughts are very deep! 
The dullard cannot know,
   the stupid cannot understand this: 
though the wicked sprout like grass
   and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever, 
   but you, O Lord, are on high for ever. 
For your enemies, O Lord,
   for your enemies shall perish;
   all evildoers shall be scattered. 


But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
   you have poured over me fresh oil. 
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
   my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 


The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
   they flourish in the courts of our God. 
In old age they still produce fruit;
   they are always green and full of sap, 
showing that the Lord is upright;
   he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
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