Saturday 1 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

[info at dailylectionary.org]

Saturday 1 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org

******************************************************************
Micah 7:11-20

A day for the building of your walls!
   In that day the boundary shall be far extended. 
In that day they will come to you
   from Assyria to* Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
   from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. 
But the earth will be desolate
   because of its inhabitants,
   for the fruit of their doings. 


Shepherd your people with your staff,
   the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
   in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
   as in the days of old. 
As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
   show us* marvellous things. 
The nations shall see and be ashamed
   of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
   their ears shall be deaf; 
they shall lick dust like a snake,
   like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
   they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
   and they shall stand in fear of you. 


Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
   and passing over the transgression
   of the remnant of your* possession?
He does not retain his anger for ever,
   because he delights in showing clemency. 
He will again have compassion upon us;
   he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our* sins
   into the depths of the sea. 
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
   and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
   from the days of old.
******************************************************************
1 Peter 4:7-19

The end of all things is near;* therefore be serious and discipline
yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant
love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable
to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold
grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has
received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of
God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so
that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him
belong the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 

 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place
among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to
you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so
that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the
spirit of glory,* which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.* But
let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a
mischief-maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not
consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For
the time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God; if
it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the
gospel of God? And
'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
   what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?' 
Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God's will entrust
themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.
******************************************************************
Matthew 20:29-34

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two
blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was
passing by, they shouted, 'Lord,* have mercy on us, Son of David!' The
crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more
loudly, 'Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!' Jesus stood still and
called them, saying, 'What do you want me to do for you?' They said to
him, 'Lord, let our eyes be opened.' Moved with compassion, Jesus
touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed
him. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 137:1-9, 144

Psalm 137:1-9

By the rivers of Babylon-
   there we sat down and there we wept
   when we remembered Zion. 
On the willows* there
   we hung up our harps. 
For there our captors
   asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
   'Sing us one of the songs of Zion!' 


How could we sing the Lord's song
   in a foreign land? 
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
   let my right hand wither! 
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
   if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
   above my highest joy. 


Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
   the day of Jerusalem's fall,
how they said, 'Tear it down! Tear it down!
   Down to its foundations!' 
O daughter Babylon, you devastator!*
   Happy shall they be who pay you back
   what you have done to us! 
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
   and dash them against the rock!


Psalm 144

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
   who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 
my rock* and my fortress,
   my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
   who subdues the peoples* under me. 


O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them,
   or mortals that you think of them? 
They are like a breath;
   their days are like a passing shadow. 


Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
   touch the mountains so that they smoke. 
Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
   send out your arrows and rout them. 
Stretch out your hand from on high;
   set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
   from the hand of aliens, 
whose mouths speak lies,
   and whose right hands are false. 


I will sing a new song to you, O God;
   upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 
the one who gives victory to kings,
   who rescues his servant David. 
Rescue me from the cruel sword,
   and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
   and whose right hands are false. 


May our sons in their youth
   be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
   cut for the building of a palace. 
May our barns be filled
   with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
   by tens of thousands in our fields, 
   and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,* no exile,
   and no cry of distress in our streets. 


Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
   happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms:  Psalm 104

Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
   O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honour and majesty, 
   wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent, 
   you set the beams of your* chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your* chariot,
   you ride on the wings of the wind, 
you make the winds your* messengers,
   fire and flame your* ministers. 


You set the earth on its foundations,
   so that it shall never be shaken. 
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
   the waters stood above the mountains. 
At your rebuke they flee;
   at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
   to the place that you appointed for them. 
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
   so that they might not again cover the earth. 


You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills, 
giving drink to every wild animal;
   the wild asses quench their thirst. 
By the streams* the birds of the air have their habitation;
   they sing among the branches. 
>From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 


You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
   and plants for people to use,*
to bring forth food from the earth, 
   and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
   and bread to strengthen the human heart. 
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
   the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 
In them the birds build their nests;
   the stork has its home in the fir trees. 
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
   the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. 
You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting. 
You make darkness, and it is night,
   when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 
The young lions roar for their prey,
   seeking their food from God. 
When the sun rises, they withdraw
   and lie down in their dens. 
People go out to their work
   and to their labour until the evening. 


O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures. 
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great. 
There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 


These all look to you
   to give them their food in due season; 
when you give to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust. 
When you send forth your spirit,* they are created;
   and you renew the face of the ground. 


May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
   may the Lord rejoice in his works- 
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke. 
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the Lord. 
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!
******************************************************************