Tuesday 29 May 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 29 May 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Deuteronomy 4:15-24

Since you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the
fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not act
corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any
figure—the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that
is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any
fish that is in the water under the earth. And when you look up to the
heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of
heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them,
things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples
everywhere under heaven. But the Lord has taken you and brought you out
of the iron-smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own
possession, as you are now. 
The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I should
not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the
Lord your God is giving for your possession. For I am going to die in
this land without crossing over the Jordan, but you are going to cross
over to take possession of that good land. So be careful not to forget
the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for
yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has
forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous
God.
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2 Corinthians 1:12-22

Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have
behaved in the world with frankness and godly sincerity, not by earthly
wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more towards you. For we
write to you nothing other than what you can read and also understand;
I hope you will understand until the end— as you have already
understood us in part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your
boast even as you are our boast. 
Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you
might have a double favour; I wanted to visit you on my way to
Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me
on to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my
plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say ‘Yes, yes’
and ‘No, no’ at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word
to you has not been ‘Yes and No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes
and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s
promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the
‘Amen’, to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you
in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us
his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment.
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Luke 15:1-10

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to
him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This
fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ 
So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep
and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the
wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he
has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he
comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to
them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just
so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who
repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. 
‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does
not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds
it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and
neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I
had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner who repents.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 26, 28

Psalm 26

Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind. 
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you. 


I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites; 
I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked. 


I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go around your altar, O Lord, 
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds. 


O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
   and the place where your glory abides. 
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
   nor my life with the bloodthirsty, 
those in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes. 


But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me. 
My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.



Psalm 28

To you, O Lord, I call;
   my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
   I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 
Hear the voice of my supplication,
   as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
   towards your most holy sanctuary. 


Do not drag me away with the wicked,
   with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbours,
   while mischief is in their hearts. 
Repay them according to their work,
   and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
   render them their due reward. 
Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
   or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more. 


Blessed be the Lord,
   for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. 
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
   in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
   and with my song I give thanks to him. 


The Lord is the strength of his people;
   he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
   be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 36, 39

Psalm 36

Transgression speaks to the wicked
   deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
   before their eyes. 
For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
   that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 
The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
   they have ceased to act wisely and do good. 
They plot mischief while on their beds;
   they are set on a way that is not good;
   they do not reject evil. 


Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
   your faithfulness to the clouds. 
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
   your judgements are like the great deep;
   you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. 


How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
   All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
They feast on the abundance of your house,
   and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 
For with you is the fountain of life;
   in your light we see light. 


O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
   and your salvation to the upright of heart! 
Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
   or the hand of the wicked drive me away. 
There the evildoers lie prostrate;
   they are thrust down, unable to rise.



Psalm 39

I said, ‘I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.’ 
I was silent and still;
   I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse, 
   my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
   then I spoke with my tongue: 


‘Lord, let me know my end,
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting my life is. 
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. 
          Selah 
   Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
   they heap up, and do not know who will gather. 


‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
   My hope is in you. 
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
   Do not make me the scorn of the fool. 
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it. 
Remove your stroke from me;
   I am worn down by the blows of your hand. 


‘You chastise mortals
   in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
   surely everyone is a mere breath. 
          Selah


‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,
   and give ear to my cry;
   do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
   an alien, like all my forebears. 
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
   before I depart and am no more.’
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