Wednesday 16 May 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 16 May 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Baruch 3:24-37

O Israel, how great is the house of God,
   how vast the territory that he possesses! 
It is great and has no bounds;
   it is high and immeasurable. 
The giants were born there, who were famous of old,
   great in stature, expert in war. 
God did not choose them,
   or give them the way to knowledge; 
so they perished because they had no wisdom,
   they perished through their folly. 


Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her,
   and brought her down from the clouds? 
Who has gone over the sea, and found her,
   and will buy her for pure gold? 
No one knows the way to her,
   or is concerned about the path to her. 
But the one who knows all things knows her,
   he found her by his understanding.
The one who prepared the earth for all time
   filled it with four-footed creatures; 
the one who sends forth the light, and it goes;
   he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling; 
the stars shone in their watches, and were glad;
   he called them, and they said, ‘Here we are!’
   They shone with gladness for him who made them. 
This is our God;
   no other can be compared to him. 
He found the whole way to knowledge,
   and gave her to his servant Jacob
   and to Israel, whom he loved. 
Afterwards she appeared on earth
   and lived with humankind. 
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James 5:13-18

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They
should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call
for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing
them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save
the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed
sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and
pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the
righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us,
and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and
six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
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Luke 12:22-31

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For
life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the
ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor
barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the
birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of
life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do
you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory
was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of
the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep
striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not
keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all
these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive
for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 78:1-39

Psalm 78:1-39

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
   incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 
I will open my mouth in a parable;
   I will utter dark sayings from of old, 
things that we have heard and known,
   that our ancestors have told us. 
We will not hide them from their children;
   we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
   and the wonders that he has done. 


He established a decree in Jacob,
   and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
   to teach to their children; 
that the next generation might know them,
   the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children, 
   so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
   but keep his commandments; 
and that they should not be like their ancestors,
   a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
   whose spirit was not faithful to God. 


The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
   turned back on the day of battle. 
They did not keep God’s covenant,
   but refused to walk according to his law. 
They forgot what he had done,
   and the miracles that he had shown them. 
In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
   in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 
He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
   and made the waters stand like a heap. 
In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
   and all night long with a fiery light. 
He split rocks open in the wilderness,
   and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 
He made streams come out of the rock,
   and caused waters to flow down like rivers. 


Yet they sinned still more against him,
   rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 
They tested God in their heart
   by demanding the food they craved. 
They spoke against God, saying,
   ‘Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 
Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out
   and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread,
   or provide meat for his people?’ 


Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage;
   a fire was kindled against Jacob,
   his anger mounted against Israel, 
because they had no faith in God,
   and did not trust his saving power. 
Yet he commanded the skies above,
   and opened the doors of heaven; 
he rained down on them manna to eat,
   and gave them the grain of heaven. 
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
   he sent them food in abundance. 
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
   and by his power he led out the south wind; 
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
   winged birds like the sand of the seas; 
he let them fall within their camp,
   all around their dwellings. 
And they ate and were well filled,
   for he gave them what they craved. 
But before they had satisfied their craving,
   while the food was still in their mouths, 
the anger of God rose against them
   and he killed the strongest of them,
   and laid low the flower of Israel. 


In spite of all this they still sinned;
   they did not believe in his wonders. 
So he made their days vanish like a breath,
   and their years in terror. 
When he killed them, they sought for him;
   they repented and sought God earnestly. 
They remembered that God was their rock,
   the Most High God their redeemer. 
But they flattered him with their mouths;
   they lied to him with their tongues. 
Their heart was not steadfast towards him;
   they were not true to his covenant. 
Yet he, being compassionate,
   forgave their iniquity,
   and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
   and did not stir up all his wrath. 
He remembered that they were but flesh,
   a wind that passes and does not come again.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 68:1-20

Psalm 68:1-20

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
   let those who hate him flee before him. 
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
   as wax melts before the fire,
   let the wicked perish before God. 
But let the righteous be joyful;
   let them exult before God;
   let them be jubilant with joy. 


Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
   lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
   be exultant before him. 


Father of orphans and protector of widows
   is God in his holy habitation. 
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious live in a parched land. 


O God, when you went out before your people,
   when you marched through the wilderness,
          Selah 
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
   at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
   at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
   you restored your heritage when it languished; 
your flock found a dwelling in it;
   in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 


The Lord gives the command;
   great is the company of those who bore the tidings: 
   ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil, 
   though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
   its pinions with green gold. 
When the Almighty scattered kings there,
   snow fell on Zalmon. 


O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
   O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
   at the mount that God desired for his abode,
   where the Lord will reside for ever? 


With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
   thousands upon thousands,
   the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. 
You ascended the high mount,
   leading captives in your train
   and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there. 
Blessed be the Lord,
   who daily bears us up;
   God is our salvation.
          Selah 
Our God is a God of salvation,
   and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. 
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