Saturday 17 March 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 17 March 2007
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Jeremiah 13:1-11

Thus said the Lord to me, ‘Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth, and
put it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.’ So I bought a
loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.
And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ‘Take the
loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates,
and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.’ So I went, and hid it by the
Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. And after many days the Lord said
to me, ‘Go now to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that
I commanded you to hide there.’ Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug,
and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But now
the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Thus says the Lord: Just so I will
ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil
people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own
will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them,
shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. For as the
loincloth clings to one’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel
and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in order that
they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they
would not listen.
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Romans 6:12-23

Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to
make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as
instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who
have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God
as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over
you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone
as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of
sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves
of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to
which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin,
have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms
because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented
your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity,
so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for
sanctification.

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are
ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been
freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is
sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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John 8:47-59

Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear
them is that you are not from God.’

The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a
Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon;
but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. Yet I do not seek my own
glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I
tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ The Jews said to
him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the
prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.”
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also
died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my
glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say,
“He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were
to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do
know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he
would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him,
‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus
said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So
they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went
out of the temple.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 87, 90

Psalm 87

On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 
   the Lord loves the gates of Zion
   more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 
Glorious things are spoken of you,
   O city of God.
          Selah 


Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
   Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia*—
   ‘This one was born there,’ they say. 


And of Zion it shall be said,
   ‘This one and that one were born in it’;
   for the Most High himself will establish it. 
The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,
   ‘This one was born there.’
          Selah 


Singers and dancers alike say,
   ‘All my springs are in you.’





Psalm 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling-place
   in all generations. 
Before the mountains were brought forth,
   or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
   from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 


You turn us back to dust,
   and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’ 
For a thousand years in your sight
   are like yesterday when it is past,
   or like a watch in the night. 


You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
   like grass that is renewed in the morning; 
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
   in the evening it fades and withers. 


For we are consumed by your anger;
   by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 
You have set our iniquities before you,
   our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 


For all our days pass away under your wrath;
   our years come to an end like a sigh. 
The days of our life are seventy years,
   or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
   they are soon gone, and we fly away. 


Who considers the power of your anger?
   Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you. 
So teach us to count our days
   that we may gain a wise heart. 


Turn, O Lord! How long?
   Have compassion on your servants! 
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
   so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
   and for as many years as we have seen evil. 
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
   and your glorious power to their children. 
Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
   and prosper for us the work of our hands—
   O prosper the work of our hands!
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 136

Psalm 136

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
O give thanks to the God of gods,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 


who alone does great wonders,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who by understanding made the heavens,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who spread out the earth on the waters,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who made the great lights,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
the sun to rule over the day,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 


who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and brought Israel out from among them,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who divided the Red Sea in two,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who led his people through the wilderness,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who struck down great kings,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and killed famous kings,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and Og, king of Bashan,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and gave their land as a heritage,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
a heritage to his servant Israel,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 


It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
and rescued us from our foes,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who gives food to all flesh,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 


O give thanks to the God of heaven,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
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