Monday 30 July 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 30 July 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 2:1-11

After this David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go up into any of the
cities of Judah?' The Lord said to him, 'Go up.' David said, 'To which
shall I go up?' He said, 'To Hebron.' So David went up there, along with
his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of
Carmel. David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his
household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron. Then the people of
Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, 'It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried
Saul', David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to
them, 'May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty
to Saul your lord, and buried him! Now may the Lord show steadfast love
and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done
this thing. Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul
your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over
them.' 
But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbaal son of
Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead,
the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ishbaal,
Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and
he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. The
time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven
years and six months.
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Acts 15:36-16:5

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, 'Come, let us return and visit
the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and
see how they are doing.' Barnabas wanted to take with them John called
Mark. But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them
in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. The disagreement
became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him
and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the
believers commending him to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria
and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 
Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple
named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his
father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and
Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had
him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they
all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went from town to town,
they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been
reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the
churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.
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Mark 6:14-29

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were
saying, 'John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this
reason these powers are at work in him.' But others said, 'It is
Elijah.' And others said, 'It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of
old.' But when Herod heard of it, he said, 'John, whom I beheaded, has
been raised.' 
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him
in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because
Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not
lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' And Herodias had a grudge
against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected
him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to
listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a
banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his
guests; and the king said to the girl, 'Ask me for whatever you wish,
and I will give it.' And he solemnly swore to her, 'Whatever you ask me,
I will give you, even half of my kingdom.' She went out and said to her
mother, 'What should I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the
baptizer.' Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, 'I
want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.'
The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the
guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a
soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and
beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it
to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples
heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. 
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 56, 57, 58

Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
   all day long foes oppress me; 
my enemies trample on me all day long,
   for many fight against me.
O Most High, when I am afraid,
   I put my trust in you. 
In God, whose word I praise,
   in God I trust; I am not afraid;
   what can flesh do to me? 


All day long they seek to injure my cause;
   all their thoughts are against me for evil. 
They stir up strife, they lurk,
   they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life, 
   so repay them for their crime;
   in wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 


You have kept count of my tossings;
   put my tears in your bottle.
   Are they not in your record? 
Then my enemies will retreat
   on the day when I call.
   This I know, that God is for me. 
In God, whose word I praise,
   in the Lord, whose word I praise, 
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
   What can a mere mortal do to me? 


My vows to you I must perform, O God;
   I will render thank-offerings to you. 
For you have delivered my soul from death,
   and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
   in the light of life.



Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
   for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
   until the destroying storms pass by. 
I cry to God Most High,
   to God who fulfils his purpose for me. 
He will send from heaven and save me,
   he will put to shame those who trample on me.
          Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 


I lie down among lions
   that greedily devour human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
   their tongues sharp swords. 


Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth. 


They set a net for my steps;
   my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
   but they have fallen into it themselves.
          Selah 
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;
   I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
   your faithfulness extends to the clouds. 


Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth.



Psalm 58

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
   Do you judge people fairly? 
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
   your hands deal out violence on earth. 


The wicked go astray from the womb;
   they err from their birth, speaking lies. 
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
   like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
   or of the cunning enchanter. 


O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
   tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
   like grass let them be trodden down and wither. 
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
   like the untimely birth that never sees the sun. 
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
   whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! 


The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
   they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. 
People will say, 'Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
   surely there is a God who judges on earth.'
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 64, 65

Psalm 64

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
   preserve my life from the dread enemy. 
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
   from the scheming of evildoers, 
who whet their tongues like swords,
   who aim bitter words like arrows, 
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
   they shoot suddenly and without fear. 
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
   they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, 'Who can see us? 
   Who can search out our crimes?
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.'
   For the human heart and mind are deep. 


But God will shoot his arrow at them;
   they will be wounded suddenly. 
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;
   all who see them will shake with horror. 
Then everyone will fear;
   they will tell what God has brought about,
   and ponder what he has done. 


Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
   and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.



Psalm 65

Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed, 
   O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come. 
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
   you forgive our transgressions. 
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
   to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
   your holy temple. 


By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas. 
By your strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might. 
You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples. 
Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 


You visit the earth and water it,
   you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
   you provide the people with grain,
   for so you have prepared it. 
You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth. 
You crown the year with your bounty;
   your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
   the hills gird themselves with joy, 
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
   the valleys deck themselves with grain,
   they shout and sing together for joy.
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