Thursday 22 November 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 22 November 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Maccabees 4:1-25

Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and one thousand picked cavalry,
and this division moved out by night to fall upon the camp of the Jews
and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. But
Judas heard of it, and he and his warriors moved out to attack the
king's force in Emmaus while the division was still absent from the
camp. When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one
there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, 'These men
are running away from us.'

 At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but
they did not have armour and swords such as they desired. And they saw
the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around
it; and these men were trained in war. But Judas said to those who were
with him, 'Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge.
Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with
his forces pursued them. And now, let us cry to Heaven, to see whether
he will favour us and remember his covenant with our ancestors and crush
this army before us today. Then all the Gentiles will know that there is
one who redeems and saves Israel.'

 When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them, they
went out from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their
trumpets and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed, and fled into
the plain, and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued
them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia;
and three thousand of them fell. Then Judas and his force turned back
from pursuing them, and he said to the people, 'Do not be greedy for
plunder, for there is a battle before us; Gorgias and his force are near
us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and
afterwards seize the plunder boldly.'

 Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming
out of the hills. They saw that their army* had been put to flight, and
that the Jews* were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed
what had happened. When they perceived this, they were greatly
frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the
plain for battle, they all fled into the land of the Philistines. Then
Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized a great amount of
gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches.
On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven-'For he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.' Thus Israel had a great deliverance
that day.
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Revelation 21:22-22:5

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty
and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations
will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their
glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no
night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the
nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practises
abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's
book of life.
Then the angel* showed me the river of the water of life, bright as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the
middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the
tree of life* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each
month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and
of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants* will worship him; they will
see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be
no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will
be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.
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Matthew 18:1-9

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a child, whom he put among them,
and said, 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like
this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes
one such child in my name welcomes me.
 'If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones
who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were
fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling
are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!

 'If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw
it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have
two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if
your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is
better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to
be thrown into the hell* of fire.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 105:1-22

Psalm 105:1-22

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
   make known his deeds among the peoples. 
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
   tell of all his wonderful works. 
Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 
Seek the Lord and his strength;
   seek his presence continually. 
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered, 
O offspring of his servant Abraham,*
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 


He is the Lord our God;
   his judgements are in all the earth. 
He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
   of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
   his sworn promise to Isaac, 
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 
saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.' 


When they were few in number,
   of little account, and strangers in it, 
wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people, 
he allowed no one to oppress them;
   he rebuked kings on their account, 
saying, 'Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.' 


When he summoned famine against the land,
   and broke every staff of bread, 
he had sent a man ahead of them,
   Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 
His feet were hurt with fetters,
   his neck was put in a collar of iron; 
until what he had said came to pass,
   the word of the Lord kept testing him. 
The king sent and released him;
   the ruler of the peoples set him free. 
He made him lord of his house,
   and ruler of all his possessions, 
to instruct* his officials at his pleasure,
   and to teach his elders wisdom.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 105:23-45

Psalm 105:23-45

Then Israel came to Egypt;
   Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
   and made them stronger than their foes, 
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
   to deal craftily with his servants. 


He sent his servant Moses,
   and Aaron whom he had chosen. 
They performed his signs among them,
   and miracles in the land of Ham. 
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
   they rebelled* against his words. 
He turned their waters into blood,
   and caused their fish to die. 
Their land swarmed with frogs,
   even in the chambers of their kings. 
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
   and gnats throughout their country. 
He gave them hail for rain,
   and lightning that flashed through their land. 
He struck their vines and fig trees,
   and shattered the trees of their country. 
He spoke, and the locusts came,
   and young locusts without number; 
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
   and ate up the fruit of their ground. 
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
   the first issue of all their strength. 


Then he brought Israel* out with silver and gold,
   and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled. 
Egypt was glad when they departed,
   for dread of them had fallen upon it. 
He spread a cloud for a covering,
   and fire to give light by night. 
They asked, and he brought quails,
   and gave them food from heaven in abundance. 
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
   it flowed through the desert like a river. 
For he remembered his holy promise,
   and Abraham, his servant. 


So he brought his people out with joy,
   his chosen ones with singing. 
He gave them the lands of the nations,
   and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples, 
that they might keep his statutes
   and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!
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