Friday 17 August 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 17 August 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 15:19-37

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, 'Why are you also coming with
us? Go back, and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also
an exile from your home. You came only yesterday, and shall I today make
you wander about with us, while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take
your kinsfolk with you; and may the Lord show* steadfast love and
faithfulness to you.' But Ittai answered the king, 'As the Lord lives,
and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether
for death or for life, there also your servant will be.' David said to
Ittai, 'Go then, march on.' So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all
his men and all the little ones who were with him. The whole country
wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi
Kidron, and all the people moved on towards the wilderness.

 Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the
ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, until the
people had all passed out of the city. Then the king said to Zadok,
'Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favour in the eyes
of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place
where it remains. But if he says, "I take no pleasure in you", here I
am, let him do to me what seems good to him.' The king also said to the
priest Zadok, 'Look,* go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar,*
with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar. See,
I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to
inform me.' So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to
Jerusalem, and they remained there.

 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he
went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who
were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom.
And David said, 'O Lord, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into
foolishness.'

 When David came to the summit, where God was worshipped, Hushai the
Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head. David
said to him, 'If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But if
you return to the city and say to Absalom, "I will be your servant, O
king; as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will
be your servant", then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you
hear from the king's house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.
Their two sons are with them there, Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's
son Jonathan; and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.'
So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was
entering Jerusalem.
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Acts 21:37-22:16

Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the
tribune, 'May I say something to you?' The tribune* replied, 'Do you
know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a
revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?'
Paul replied, 'I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an
important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.' When he had
given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people
for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the
Hebrew* language, saying:

'Brothers and fathers, listen to the defence that I now make before
you.'

 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew,* they became even more
quiet. Then he said:

 'I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at
the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law,
being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this
Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting
them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can
testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in
Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to
bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

 'While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great
light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and
heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" I
answered, "Who are you, Lord?" Then he said to me, "I am Jesus of
Nazareth* whom you are persecuting." Now those who were with me saw the
light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I
asked, "What am I to do, Lord?" The Lord said to me, "Get up and go to
Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to
you to do." Since I could not see because of the brightness of that
light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

 'A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well
spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside
me, he said, "Brother Saul, regain your sight!" In that very hour I
regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, "The God of our ancestors
has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear
his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you
have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and
have your sins washed away, calling on his name."
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Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were
leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting
by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began
to shout out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Many
sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, 'Son
of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stood still and said, 'Call him
here.' And they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take heart; get
up, he is calling you.' So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came
to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, 'What do you want me to do for you?'
The blind man said to him, 'My teacher,* let me see again.' Jesus said
to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his
sight and followed him on the way.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 102

Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   let my cry come to you. 
Do not hide your face from me
   on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
   answer me speedily on the day when I call. 


For my days pass away like smoke,
   and my bones burn like a furnace. 
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
   I am too wasted to eat my bread. 
Because of my loud groaning
   my bones cling to my skin. 
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
   like a little owl of the waste places. 
I lie awake;
   I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 
All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who deride me use my name for a curse. 
For I eat ashes like bread,
   and mingle tears with my drink, 
because of your indignation and anger;
   for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 
My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass. 


But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;
   your name endures to all generations. 
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to favour it;
   the appointed time has come. 
For your servants hold its stones dear,
   and have pity on its dust. 
The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
   and all the kings of the earth your glory. 
For the Lord will build up Zion;
   he will appear in his glory. 
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
   and will not despise their prayer. 


Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord: 
that he looked down from his holy height,
   from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die; 
so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,
   and his praise in Jerusalem, 
when peoples gather together,
   and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. 


He has broken my strength in mid-course;
   he has shortened my days. 
'O my God,' I say, 'do not take me away
   at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
   throughout all generations.' 


Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands. 
They will perish, but you endure;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away; 
   but you are the same, and your years have no end. 
The children of your servants shall live secure;
   their offspring shall be established in your presence.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 107:1-32

Psalm 107:1-32

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble 
and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.* 


Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town; 
hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress; 
he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things. 


Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
   prisoners in misery and in irons, 
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
   and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
   they fell down, with no one to help. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
   and broke their bonds asunder. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
For he shatters the doors of bronze,
   and cuts in two the bars of iron. 


Some were sick* through their sinful ways,
   and because of their iniquities endured affliction; 
they loathed any kind of food,
   and they drew near to the gates of death. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
   and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. 


Some went down to the sea in ships,
   doing business on the mighty waters; 
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
   his wondrous works in the deep. 
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
   which lifted up the waves of the sea. 
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage melted away in their calamity; 
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
   and were at their wits' end. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he brought them out from their distress; 
he made the storm be still,
   and the waves of the sea were hushed. 
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
   and he brought them to their desired haven. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
   and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
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