Friday 5 October 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

info at dailylectionary.org info at dailylectionary.org
Fri Oct 5 02:00:00 EDT 2007


Friday 5 October 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org

******************************************************************
2 Kings 19:1-20

When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with
sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2And he sent Eliakim,
who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the
senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of
Amoz. 3They said to him, 'Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of
distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to birth, and
there is no strength to bring them forth. 4It may be that the Lord your
God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of
Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that
the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the
remnant that is left.' 5When the servants of King Hezekiah came to
Isaiah, 6Isaiah said to them, 'Say to your master, "Thus says the Lord:
Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which
the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7I myself will put
a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumour and return to his own
land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land." ' 
Sennacherib's Threat8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of
Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard that the king had left
Lachish. 9When the king* heard concerning King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,*
'See, he has set out to fight against you', he sent messengers again to
Hezekiah, saying, 10'Thus shall you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do
not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that
Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11See,
you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands,
destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered? 12Have the gods of the
nations delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed,
Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city
of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?' 
Hezekiah's Prayer14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the
messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord
and spread it before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord,
and said: 'O Lord the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the
cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you
have made heaven and earth. 16Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open
your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has
sent to mock the living God. 17Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have
laid waste the nations and their lands, 18and have hurled their gods
into the fire, though they were no gods but the work of human hands-wood
and stone-and so they were destroyed. 19So now, O Lord our God, save us,
I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may
know that you, O Lord, are God alone.' 
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, 'Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard your prayer to me about King
Sennacherib of Assyria.
******************************************************************
1 Corinthians 9:16-27

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an
obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the
gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not
of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my
reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of
charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. 
19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave
to all, so that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a
Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under
the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those
under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the
law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so
that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, so
that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so
that I might by any means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the
gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. 
24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one
receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25Athletes
exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable
garland, but we an imperishable one. 26So I do not run aimlessly, nor do
I box as though beating the air; 27but I punish my body and enslave it,
so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

******************************************************************
Matthew 8:1-17

When Jesus* had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him;
2and there was a leper* who came to him and knelt before him, saying,
'Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.' 3He stretched out his hand
and touched him, saying, 'I do choose. Be made clean!' Immediately his
leprosy* was cleansed. 4Then Jesus said to him, 'See that you say
nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the
gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.' 
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant5 When he entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to him, appealing to him 6and saying, 'Lord, my servant
is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.' 7And he said to him,
'I will come and cure him.' 8The centurion answered, 'Lord, I am not
worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my
servant will be healed. 9For I also am a man under authority, with
soldiers under me; and I say to one, "Go", and he goes, and to another,
"Come", and he comes, and to my slave, "Do this", and the slave does
it.' 10When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who
followed him, 'Truly I tell you, in no one* in Israel have I found such
faith. 11I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12while the heirs
of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 13And to the centurion Jesus said,
'Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.' And the servant
was healed in that hour. 
Jesus Heals Many at Peter's House14 When Jesus entered Peter's house, he
saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; 15he touched her hand,
and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. 16That
evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he
cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. 17This
was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, 'He took
our infirmities and bore our diseases.'
******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 102

Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   let my cry come to you. 
2Do not hide your face from me
   on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
   answer me speedily on the day when I call. 


3For my days pass away like smoke,
   and my bones burn like a furnace. 
4My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
   I am too wasted to eat my bread. 
5Because of my loud groaning
   my bones cling to my skin. 
6I am like an owl of the wilderness,
   like a little owl of the waste places. 
7I lie awake;
   I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 
8All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who deride me use my name for a curse. 
9For I eat ashes like bread,
   and mingle tears with my drink, 
10because of your indignation and anger;
   for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 
11My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass. 


12But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;
   your name endures to all generations. 
13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to favour it;
   the appointed time has come. 
14For your servants hold its stones dear,
   and have pity on its dust. 
15The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
   and all the kings of the earth your glory. 
16For the Lord will build up Zion;
   he will appear in his glory. 
17He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
   and will not despise their prayer. 


18Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord: 
19that he looked down from his holy height,
   from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 
20to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die; 
21so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,
   and his praise in Jerusalem, 
22when peoples gather together,
   and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. 


23He has broken my strength in mid-course;
   he has shortened my days. 
24'O my God,' I say, 'do not take me away
   at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
   throughout all generations.' 


25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands. 
26They will perish, but you endure;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away; 
27   but you are the same, and your years have no end. 
28The children of your servants shall live secure;
   their offspring shall be established in your presence.
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms: Psalm 107:1-32

Psalm 107:1-32

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble 
3and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.* 


4Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town; 
5hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them. 
6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress; 
7he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town. 
8Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
9For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things. 


10Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
   prisoners in misery and in irons, 
11for they had rebelled against the words of God,
   and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 
12Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
   they fell down, with no one to help. 
13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
14he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
   and broke their bonds asunder. 
15Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
16For he shatters the doors of bronze,
   and cuts in two the bars of iron. 


17Some were sick* through their sinful ways,
   and because of their iniquities endured affliction; 
18they loathed any kind of food,
   and they drew near to the gates of death. 
19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
20he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction. 
21Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
22And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
   and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. 


23Some went down to the sea in ships,
   doing business on the mighty waters; 
24they saw the deeds of the Lord,
   his wondrous works in the deep. 
25For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
   which lifted up the waves of the sea. 
26They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage melted away in their calamity; 
27they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
   and were at their wits' end. 
28Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he brought them out from their distress; 
29he made the storm be still,
   and the waves of the sea were hushed. 
30Then they were glad because they had quiet,
   and he brought them to their desired haven. 
31Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
32Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
   and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 
******************************************************************









More information about the DailyLectionary mailing list