Thursday 19 July 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 19 July 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 20:24-42

So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat
at the feast to eat. The king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon
the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood, while Abner sat by Saul's side;
but David's place was empty. 
Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, 'Something has
befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean.' But on the
second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And
Saul said to his son Jonathan, 'Why has the son of Jesse not come to the
feast, either yesterday or today?' Jonathan answered Saul, 'David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; he said, "Let me go; for
our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has
commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favour in your sight,
let me get away, and see my brothers." For this reason he has not come
to the king's table.' 
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. He said to him, 'You son
of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the
son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's
nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither
you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send and bring him to me,
for he shall surely die.' Then Jonathan answered his father Saul, 'Why
should he be put to death? What has he done?' But Saul threw his spear
at him to strike him; so Jonathan knew that it was the decision of his
father to put David to death. Jonathan rose from the table in fierce
anger and ate no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved
for David, and because his father had disgraced him. 
In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with
David, and with him was a little boy. He said to the boy, 'Run and find
the arrows that I shoot.' As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen,
Jonathan called after the boy and said, 'Is the arrow not beyond you?'
Jonathan called after the boy, 'Hurry, be quick, do not linger.' So
Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. But the
boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement. Jonathan
gave his weapons to the boy and said to him, 'Go and carry them to the
city.' As soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone
heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed three
times, and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept
the more. Then Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, since both of us
have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord shall be between
me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, for ever."
' He got up and left; and Jonathan went into the city.
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Acts 13:1-12

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas,
Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the
court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord
and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and
praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and
from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they
proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had
John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as
far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet,
named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an
intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the
word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his
name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked
intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all
righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making
crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen-the hand of the
Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see
the sun.' Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about
groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what
had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about
the Lord.
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Mark 2:23-3:6

One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their
way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to
him, 'Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?' And
he said to them, 'Have you never read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God,
when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which
it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his
companions.' Then he said to them, 'The sabbath was made for humankind,
and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the
sabbath.' 
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered
hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath,
so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the
withered hand, 'Come forward.' Then he said to them, 'Is it lawful to do
good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?' But they
were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at
their hardness of heart and said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He
stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and
immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy
him. 
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 37:1-18

Psalm 37:1-18

Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers, 
for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb. 


Trust in the Lord, and do good;
   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 
Take delight in the Lord,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart. 


Commit your way to the Lord;
   trust in him, and he will act. 
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
   and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 


Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
   do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
   over those who carry out evil devices. 


Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
   Do not fret-it leads only to evil. 
For the wicked shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 


Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 
But the meek shall inherit the land,
   and delight in abundant prosperity. 


The wicked plot against the righteous,
   and gnash their teeth at them; 
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he sees that their day is coming. 


The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to kill those who walk uprightly; 
their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken. 


Better is a little that the righteous person has
   than the abundance of many wicked. 
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
   but the Lord upholds the righteous. 


The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
   and their heritage will abide for ever;
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 37:19-42

Psalm 37:19-42

they are not put to shame in evil times,
   in the days of famine they have abundance. 


But the wicked perish,
   and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
   they vanish-like smoke they vanish away. 


The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
   but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
   but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 


Our steps are made firm by the Lord,
   when he delights in our way; 
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
   for the Lord holds us by the hand. 


I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or their children begging bread. 
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
   and their children become a blessing. 


Depart from evil, and do good;
   so you shall abide for ever. 
For the Lord loves justice;
   he will not forsake his faithful ones. 


The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
   but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 
The righteous shall inherit the land,
   and live in it for ever. 


The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
   and their tongues speak justice. 
The law of their God is in their hearts;
   their steps do not slip. 


The wicked watch for the righteous,
   and seek to kill them. 
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
   or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 


Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
   you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 


I have seen the wicked oppressing,
   and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. 
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
   though I sought them, they could not be found. 


Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
   for there is posterity for the peaceable. 
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
   the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 


The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
   he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
   he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.
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