Saturday 18 August 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 18 August 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 16:1-23

When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of
Mephibosheth* met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, carrying two
hundred loaves of bread, one hundred bunches of raisins, one hundred of
summer fruits, and one skin of wine. The king said to Ziba, 'Why have
you brought these?' Ziba answered, 'The donkeys are for the king's
household to ride, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat,
and the wine is for those to drink who faint in the wilderness.' The
king said, 'And where is your master's son?' Ziba said to the king, 'He
remains in Jerusalem; for he said, "Today the house of Israel will give
me back my grandfather's kingdom." ' Then the king said to Ziba, 'All
that belonged to Mephibosheth* is now yours.' Ziba said, 'I do
obeisance; let me find favour in your sight, my lord the king.'

 When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of
Saul came out whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing. He
threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; now all the
people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. Shimei
shouted while he cursed, 'Out! Out! Murderer! Scoundrel! The Lord has
avenged on all of you the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you
have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your
son Absalom. See, disaster has overtaken you; for you are a man of
blood.'

 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead dog
curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.' But the
king said, 'What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is
cursing because the Lord has said to him, "Curse David", who then shall
say, "Why have you done so?" ' David said to Abishai and to all his
servants, 'My own son seeks my life; how much more now may this
Benjaminite! Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord has bidden
him. It may be that the Lord will look on my distress,* and the Lord
will repay me with good for this cursing of me today.' So David and his
men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite
him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and flinging dust at him. The
king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan;*
and there he refreshed himself.

 Now Absalom and all the Israelites* came to Jerusalem; Ahithophel was
with him. When Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom,
Hushai said to Absalom, 'Long live the king! Long live the king!'
Absalom said to Hushai, 'Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did
you not go with your friend?' Hushai said to Absalom, 'No; but the one
whom the Lord and this people and all the Israelites have chosen, his I
will be, and with him I will remain. Moreover, whom should I serve?
Should it not be his son? Just as I have served your father, so I will
serve you.'

 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, 'Give us your counsel; what shall we
do?' Ahithophel said to Absalom, 'Go in to your father's concubines, the
ones he has left to look after the house; and all Israel will hear that
you have made yourself odious to your father, and the hands of all who
are with you will be strengthened.' So they pitched a tent for Absalom
upon the roof; and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the
sight of all Israel. Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave
was as if one consulted the oracle* of God; so all the counsel of
Ahithophel was esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.
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Acts 22:17-29

'After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the
temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus* saying to me, "Hurry and get
out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony
about me." And I said, "Lord, they themselves know that in every
synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the
blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by,
approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him." Then he said
to me, "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles." '

 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, 'Away
with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to
live.' And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and
tossing dust into the air, the tribune directed that he was to be
brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging,
to find out the reason for this outcry against him. But when they had
tied him up with thongs,* Paul said to the centurion who was standing
by, 'Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?'
When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him,
'What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.' The tribune
came and asked Paul,* 'Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?' And he said,
'Yes.' The tribune answered, 'It cost me a large sum of money to get my
citizenship.' Paul said, 'But I was born a citizen.' Immediately those
who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also
was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he
had bound him.
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Mark 11:1-11

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the
Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, 'Go into
the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find
tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If
anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?" just say this, "The Lord
needs it and will send it back here immediately." ' They went away and
found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were
untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, 'What are you doing,
untying the colt?' They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed
them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the
road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.
Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
'Hosanna!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 
   Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!'

 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had
looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to
Bethany with the twelve.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-13

Psalm 107:33-43

He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground, 
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 
He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water. 
And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in; 
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield. 
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease. 


When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, 
he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks. 
The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth. 
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.



Psalm 108:1-13

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;*
   I will sing and make melody.
   Awake, my soul!* 
Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn. 
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 


Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
   and let your glory be over all the earth. 
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
   so that those whom you love may be rescued. 


God has promised in his sanctuary:*
   'With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
   and portion out the Vale of Succoth. 
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
   Ephraim is my helmet;
   Judah is my sceptre. 
Moab is my wash-basin;
   on Edom I hurl my shoe;
   over Philistia I shout in triumph.' 


Who will bring me to the fortified city?
   Who will lead me to Edom? 
Have you not rejected us, O God?
   You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 
O grant us help against the foe,
   for human help is worthless. 
With God we shall do valiantly;
   it is he who will tread down our foes.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 33

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright. 
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 
Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 


For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness. 
He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 


By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses. 


Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 
For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm. 


The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 
The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 


The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind. 
>From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth- 
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds. 
A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save. 


Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine. 


Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield. 
Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.
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