Monday 17 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 17 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Zechariah 1:7-17

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in
the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet
Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo; and Zechariah* said, 8In the
night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the
myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white
horses. 9Then I said, 'What are these, my lord?' The angel who talked
with me said to me, 'I will show you what they are.' 10So the man who
was standing among the myrtle trees answered, 'They are those whom the
Lord has sent to patrol the earth.' 11Then they spoke to the angel of
the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, 'We have patrolled the
earth, and lo, the whole earth remains at peace.' 12Then the angel of
the Lord said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from
Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these
seventy years?' 13Then the Lord replied with gracious and comforting
words to the angel who talked with me. 14So the angel who talked with me
said to me, Proclaim this message: Thus says the Lord of hosts; I am
very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15And I am extremely angry with
the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they
made the disaster worse. 16Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have
returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it,
says the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out
over Jerusalem. 17Proclaim further: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My
cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will again comfort
Zion and again choose Jerusalem.
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Revelation 3:7-13

'And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of the holy one, the true one,
   who has the key of David,
   who opens and no one will shut,
     who shuts and no one opens: 
8 'I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no
one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you
have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those of the
synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are
lying-I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will
learn that I have loved you. 10Because you have kept my word of patient
endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the
whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11I am coming soon;
hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12If
you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will
never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out
of heaven, and my own new name. 13Let anyone who has an ear listen to
what the Spirit is saying to the churches. 
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Matthew 24:15-31

'So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as
was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then
those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17someone on the housetop
must not go down to take what is in the house; 18someone in the field
must not turn back to get a coat. 19Woe to those who are pregnant and to
those who are nursing infants in those days! 20Pray that your flight may
not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great
suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until
now, no, and never will be. 22And if those days had not been cut short,
no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be
cut short. 23Then if anyone says to you, "Look! Here is the Messiah!"*
or "There he is!"-do not believe it. 24For false messiahs* and false
prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray,
if possible, even the elect. 25Take note, I have told you beforehand.
26So, if they say to you, "Look! He is in the wilderness", do not go
out. If they say, "Look! He is in the inner rooms", do not believe it.
27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the
west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever the corpse is,
there the vultures will gather. 
The Coming of the Son of Man29 'Immediately after the suffering of those
days
the sun will be darkened,
   and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
   and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 
30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see "the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven" with power and great glory. 31And he
will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 41, 52

Psalm 41

Happy are those who consider the poor;*
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 
2The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 
3The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.* 


4As for me, I said, 'O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.' 
5My enemies wonder in malice
   when I will die, and my name perish. 
6And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad. 
7All who hate me whisper together about me;
   they imagine the worst for me. 


8They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
   that I will not rise again from where I lie. 
9Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 
10But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
   and raise me up, that I may repay them. 


11By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 
12But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence for ever. 


13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.


Psalm 52

'David has come to the house of Ahimelech.'
1Why do you boast, O mighty one,
   of mischief done against the godly?*
   All day long 2you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
   you worker of treachery. 
3You love evil more than good,
   and lying more than speaking the truth.
          Selah 
4You love all words that devour,
   O deceitful tongue. 


5But God will break you down for ever;
   he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
          Selah 
6The righteous will see, and fear,
   and will laugh at the evildoer,* saying, 
7'See the one who would not take
   refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
   and sought refuge in wealth!'* 


8But I am like a green olive tree
   in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
   for ever and ever. 
9I will thank you for ever,
   because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
   I will proclaim* your name, for it is good.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 44

Psalm 44

We have heard with our ears, O God,
   our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
   in the days of old: 
2you with your own hand drove out the nations,
   but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
   but them you set free; 
3for not by their own sword did they win the land,
   nor did their own arm give them victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
   and the light of your countenance,
   for you delighted in them. 


4You are my King and my God;
   you command* victories for Jacob. 
5Through you we push down our foes;
   through your name we tread down our assailants. 
6For not in my bow do I trust,
   nor can my sword save me. 
7But you have saved us from our foes,
   and have put to confusion those who hate us. 
8In God we have boasted continually,
   and we will give thanks to your name for ever.
          Selah 


9Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
   and have not gone out with our armies. 
10You made us turn back from the foe,
   and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves. 
11You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
   and have scattered us among the nations. 
12You have sold your people for a trifle,
   demanding no high price for them. 


13You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
   the derision and scorn of those around us. 
14You have made us a byword among the nations,
   a laughing-stock* among the peoples. 
15All day long my disgrace is before me,
   and shame has covered my face 
16at the words of the taunters and revilers,
   at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 


17All this has come upon us,
   yet we have not forgotten you,
   or been false to your covenant. 
18Our heart has not turned back,
   nor have our steps departed from your way, 
19yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
   and covered us with deep darkness. 


20If we had forgotten the name of our God,
   or spread out our hands to a strange god, 
21would not God discover this?
   For he knows the secrets of the heart. 
22Because of you we are being killed all day long,
   and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 


23Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
   Awake, do not cast us off for ever! 
24Why do you hide your face?
   Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 
25For we sink down to the dust;
   our bodies cling to the ground. 
26Rise up, come to our help.
   Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
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