Saturday 22 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Sat Dec 22 02:00:00 EST 2007


Saturday 22 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Zechariah 8:9-17

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong-you that have
recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who
were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the
temple, the house of the Lord of hosts. 10For before those days there
were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from
the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against
one another. 11But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people
as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. 12For there shall be a
sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give
its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the
remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13Just as you have
been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel,
so I will save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but
let your hands be strong. 
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster
upon you, when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not
relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15so again I have purposed in these days
to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid.
16These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one
another, render in your gates judgements that are true and make for
peace, 17do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love
no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.
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Revelation 6:1-17

Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the
four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, 'Come!'* 2I
looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was
given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer. 
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature
call out, 'Come!'* 4And out came* another horse, bright red; its rider
was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would
slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword. 
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call
out, 'Come!'* I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a
pair of scales in his hand, 6and I heard what seemed to be a voice in
the midst of the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat for a
day's pay,* and three quarts of barley for a day's pay,* but do not
damage the olive oil and the wine!' 
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living
creature call out, 'Come!'* 8I looked and there was a pale green horse!
Its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given
authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and
pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth. 
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of
those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony
they had given; 10they cried out with a loud voice, 'Sovereign Lord,
holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood
on the inhabitants of the earth?' 11They were each given a white robe
and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete
both of their fellow-servants* and of their brothers and sisters,* who
were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed. 
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great
earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like
blood, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree
drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14The sky vanished like a
scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from
its place. 15Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the
generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free,
hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16calling to the
mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one
seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17for the great day
of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'
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Matthew 25:31-46

'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep
at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to
those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked
and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in
prison and you visited me." 37Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord,
when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and
gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a
stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when
was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" 40And the
king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of
the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me."
41Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed,
depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and
you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome
me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you
did not visit me." 44Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that
we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not take care of you?" 45Then he will answer them,
"Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of
these, you did not do it to me." 46And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 55

Psalm 55

Give ear to my prayer, O God;
   do not hide yourself from my supplication. 
2Attend to me, and answer me;
   I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught 3by the noise of the enemy,
   because of the clamour of the wicked.
For they bring* trouble upon me,
   and in anger they cherish enmity against me. 


4My heart is in anguish within me,
   the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 
5Fear and trembling come upon me,
   and horror overwhelms me. 
6And I say, 'O that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest; 
7truly, I would flee far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;
          Selah 
8I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
   from the raging wind and tempest.' 


9Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;
   for I see violence and strife in the city. 
10Day and night they go around it
   on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it; 
11   ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
   do not depart from its market-place. 


12It is not enemies who taunt me-
   I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me-
   I could hide from them. 
13But it is you, my equal,
   my companion, my familiar friend, 
14with whom I kept pleasant company;
   we walked in the house of God with the throng. 
15Let death come upon them;
   let them go down alive to Sheol;
   for evil is in their homes and in their hearts. 


16But I call upon God,
   and the Lord will save me. 
17Evening and morning and at noon
   I utter my complaint and moan,
   and he will hear my voice. 
18He will redeem me unharmed
   from the battle that I wage,
   for many are arrayed against me. 
19God, who is enthroned from of old,
          Selah
   will hear, and will humble them-
because they do not change,
   and do not fear God. 


20My companion laid hands on a friend
   and violated a covenant with me* 
21with speech smoother than butter,
   but with a heart set on war;
with words that were softer than oil,
   but in fact were drawn swords. 


22Cast your burden* on the Lord,
   and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
   the righteous to be moved. 


23But you, O God, will cast them down
   into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
   shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 138, 139:1-23

Psalm 138

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
   before the gods I sing your praise; 
2I bow down towards your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your
faithfulness;
   for you have exalted your name and your word
   above everything.* 
3On the day I called, you answered me,
   you increased my strength of soul.* 


4All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
   for they have heard the words of your mouth. 
5They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
   for great is the glory of the Lord. 
6For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
   but the haughty he perceives from far away. 


7Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
   and your right hand delivers me. 
8The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
   your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
   Do not forsake the work of your hands. 


Psalm 139:1-23

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away. 
3You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways. 
4Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely. 
5You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me. 
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it. 


7Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence? 
8If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 
9If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 
10even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast. 
11If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night', 
12even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 


13For it was you who formed my inward parts;
   you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
   Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well. 
15   My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
   intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 
16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
   all the days that were formed for me,
   when none of them as yet existed. 
17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
   How vast is the sum of them! 
18I try to count them-they are more than the sand;
   I come to the end*-I am still with you. 


19O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
   and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me- 
20those who speak of you maliciously,
   and lift themselves up against you for evil!* 
21Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
   And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 
22I hate them with perfect hatred;
   I count them my enemies. 
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my thoughts. 
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