Monday 5 November 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 5 November 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Nehemiah 6:1-19

Now when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arab
and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that there
was no gap left in it (though up to that time I had not set up the doors
in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, 'Come and let us
meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.' But they
intended to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, 'I am
doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop
while I leave it to come down to you?' They sent to me four times in
this way, and I answered them in the same manner. In the same way
Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter
in his hand. In it was written, 'It is reported among the nations-and
Geshem* also says it-that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why
you are building the wall; and according to this report you wish to
become their king. You have also set up prophets to proclaim in
Jerusalem concerning you, "There is a king in Judah!" And now it will be
reported to the king according to these words. So come, therefore, and
let us confer together.' Then I sent to him, saying, 'No such things as
you say have been done; you are inventing them out of your own mind'
-for they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, 'Their hands will drop
from the work, and it will not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen my
hands.

 One day when I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of
Mehetabel, who was confined to his house, he said, 'Let us meet together
in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of
the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, tonight they are
coming to kill you.' But I said, 'Should a man like me run away? Would a
man like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!' Then
I perceived and saw that God had not sent him at all, but he had
pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had
hired him. He was hired for this purpose, to intimidate me and make me
sin by acting in this way, and so they could give me a bad name, in
order to taunt me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to
these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest
of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in
fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations
around us were afraid* and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they
perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah,
and Tobiah's letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath
to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah: and his
son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.
Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words
to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
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Revelation 10:1-11

And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a
cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his
legs like pillars of fire. He held a little scroll open in his hand.
Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, he gave
a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he shouted, the seven
thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about
to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Seal up what the
seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.' Then the angel whom
I saw standing on the sea and the land
raised his right hand to heaven 
   and swore by him who lives for ever and ever,
who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and
the sea and what is in it: 'There will be no more delay, but in the days
when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will
be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants* the prophets.'

 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying,
'Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is
standing on the sea and on the land.' So I went to the angel and told
him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, 'Take it, and eat;
it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.' So
I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was
sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made
bitter.

 Then they said to me, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples and
nations and languages and kings.'
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Matthew 13:36-43

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples
approached him, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the
field.' He answered, 'The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who
sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the
reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with
fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his
angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and
all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears*
listen!
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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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