Saturday 30 June 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 30 June 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 9:15-10:1

Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 'Tomorrow
about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and
you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my
people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering
of my people, because their outcry has come to me.' When Samuel saw
Saul, the Lord told him, 'Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it
is who shall rule over my people.' Then Saul approached Samuel inside
the gate, and said, 'Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?'
Samuel answered Saul, 'I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for
today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and
will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your donkeys that were
lost three days ago, give no further thought to them, for they have been
found. And on whom is all Israel's desire fixed, if not on you and on
all your ancestral house?' Saul answered, 'I am only a Benjaminite, from
the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all
the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in
this way?' 
Then Samuel took Saul and his servant-boy and brought them into the
hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited,
of whom there were about thirty. And Samuel said to the cook, 'Bring the
portion I gave you, the one I asked you to put aside.' The cook took up
the thigh and what went with it and set them before Saul. Samuel said,
'See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; for it is set before you at
the appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests.'
So Saul ate with Samuel that day. When they came down from the shrine
into the town, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to
sleep. Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul upon the roof,
'Get up, so that I may send you on your way.' Saul got up, and both he
and Samuel went out into the street. 
As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to
Saul, 'Tell the boy to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop
here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of
God.' 
Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he
said, 'The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall
reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand
of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the
Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage:
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Acts 7:30-43

'Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the
wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses
saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there
came the voice of the Lord: "I am the God of your ancestors, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Moses began to tremble and did not dare to
look. Then the Lord said to him, "Take off the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen
the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their
groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you
to Egypt." 
'It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, "Who made you a
ruler and a judge?" and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator
through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out,
having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the
wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the
Israelites, "God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as
he raised me up." He is the one who was in the congregation in the
wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our
ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. Our ancestors
were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their
hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, "Make gods for us who
will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land
of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him." At that time they
made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and revelled in the works
of their hands. But God turned away from them and handed them over to
worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the
prophets:
"Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices
   for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 
No; you took along the tent of Moloch,
   and the star of your god Rephan,
     the images that you made to worship;
so I will remove you beyond Babylon."
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Luke 22:39-51

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the
disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them,
'Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.' Then he withdrew
from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 'Father, if you
are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be
done.' [[ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him
strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became
like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]] When he got up
from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of
grief, and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that
you may not come into the time of trial.' 
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called
Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss
him; but Jesus said to him, 'Judas, is it with a kiss that you are
betraying the Son of Man?' When those who were around him saw what was
coming, they asked, 'Lord, should we strike with the sword?' Then one of
them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-13

Psalm 107:33-43

He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground, 
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 
He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water. 
And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in; 
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield. 
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease. 


When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, 
he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks. 
The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth. 
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.



Psalm 108:1-13

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,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 


Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
   and let your glory be over all the earth. 
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
   so that those whom you love may be rescued. 


God has promised in his sanctuary:
   'With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
   and portion out the Vale of Succoth. 
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
   Ephraim is my helmet;
   Judah is my sceptre. 
Moab is my wash-basin;
   on Edom I hurl my shoe;
   over Philistia I shout in triumph.' 


Who will bring me to the fortified city?
   Who will lead me to Edom? 
Have you not rejected us, O God?
   You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 
O grant us help against the foe,
   for human help is worthless. 
With God we shall do valiantly;
   it is he who will tread down our foes.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 33

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright. 
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 
Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 


For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness. 
He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 


By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses. 


Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 
For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm. 


The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 
The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 


The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind. 
>From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth- 
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds. 
A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save. 


Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine. 


Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield. 
Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.
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