Thursday 11 October 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 11 October 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Kings 23:4-25

The king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second
order, and the guardians of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of
the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the
host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the
Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5He deposed the idolatrous
priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the
high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who
made offerings to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and
all the host of the heavens. 6He brought out the image of* Asherah from
the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the Wadi Kidron, burned it
at the Wadi Kidron, beat it to dust and threw the dust of it upon the
graves of the common people. 7He broke down the houses of the male
temple prostitutes that were in the house of the Lord, where the women
did weaving for Asherah. 8He brought all the priests out of the towns of
Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings,
from Geba to Beer-sheba; he broke down the high places of the gates that
were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city,
which were on the left at the gate of the city. 9The priests of the high
places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem,
but ate unleavened bread among their kindred. 10He defiled Topheth,
which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no one would make a son or
a daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. 11He removed the
horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance
to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of the eunuch Nathan-melech,
which was in the precincts;* then he burned the chariots of the sun with
fire. 12The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the
kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the
two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down from there and broke
in pieces, and threw the rubble into the Wadi Kidron. 13The king defiled
the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount
of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Astarte the
abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and
for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14He broke the pillars in
pieces, cut down the sacred poles,* and covered the sites with human
bones. 
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam son
of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin-he pulled down that altar along with
the high place. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust; he also
burned the sacred pole.* 16As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on
the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned
them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord
that the man of God proclaimed,* when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the
festival; he turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God who had
predicted these things. 17Then he said, 'What is that monument that I
see?' The people of the city told him, 'It is the tomb of the man of God
who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done
against the altar at Bethel.' 18He said, 'Let him rest; let no one move
his bones.' So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet
who came out of Samaria. 19Moreover, Josiah removed all the shrines of
the high places that were in the towns of Samaria, which kings of Israel
had made, provoking the Lord to anger; he did to them just as he had
done at Bethel. 20He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the
high places who were there, and burned human bones on them. Then he
returned to Jerusalem. 
The Passover Celebrated21 The king commanded all the people, 'Keep the
passover to the Lord your God as prescribed in this book of the
covenant.' 22No such passover had been kept since the days of the judges
who judged Israel, even during all the days of the kings of Israel and
of the kings of Judah; 23but in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this
passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem. 
24 Moreover, Josiah did away with the mediums, wizards, teraphim,*
idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and
in Jerusalem, so that he established the words of the law that were
written in the book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the house of
the Lord. 25Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the
Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might,
according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
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1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts,* brothers and sisters,* I do not want
you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were
enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want
you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says
'Let Jesus be cursed!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the
Holy Spirit. 
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are
varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in
everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of
wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same
Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another
various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each
one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
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Matthew 9:18-26

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the
synagogue* came in and knelt before him, saying, 'My daughter has just
died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.' 19And Jesus
got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20Then suddenly a woman who
had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21for she said to herself, 'If I
only touch his cloak, I will be made well.' 22Jesus turned, and seeing
her he said, 'Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.' And
instantly the woman was made well. 23When Jesus came to the leader's
house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, 24he
said, 'Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.' And they laughed
at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took
her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26And the report of this spread
throughout that district.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 131, 132, 133

Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
   my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
   too great and too marvellous for me. 
2But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.* 


3O Israel, hope in the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.



Psalm 132

O Lord, remember in David's favour
   all the hardships he endured; 
2how he swore to the Lord
   and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 
3'I will not enter my house
   or get into my bed; 
4I will not give sleep to my eyes
   or slumber to my eyelids, 
5until I find a place for the Lord,
   a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.' 


6We heard of it in Ephrathah;
   we found it in the fields of Jaar. 
7'Let us go to his dwelling-place;
   let us worship at his footstool.' 


8Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might. 
9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
   and let your faithful shout for joy. 
10For your servant David's sake
   do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 


11The Lord swore to David a sure oath
   from which he will not turn back:
'One of the sons of your body
   I will set on your throne. 
12If your sons keep my covenant
   and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
   shall sit on your throne.' 


13For the Lord has chosen Zion;
   he has desired it for his habitation: 
14'This is my resting-place for ever;
   here I will reside, for I have desired it. 
15I will abundantly bless its provisions;
   I will satisfy its poor with bread. 
16Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
   and its faithful will shout for joy. 
17There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
   I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 
18His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
   but on him, his crown will gleam.'



Psalm 133

How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity! 
It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes. 
It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 134, 135

Psalm 134

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
   who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 
2Lift up your hands to the holy place,
   and bless the Lord. 


3May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,
   bless you from Zion.



Psalm 135

Praise the Lord!
   Praise the name of the Lord;
   give praise, O servants of the Lord, 
2you that stand in the house of the Lord,
   in the courts of the house of our God. 
3Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
   sing to his name, for he is gracious. 
4For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
   Israel as his own possession. 


5For I know that the Lord is great;
   our Lord is above all gods. 
6Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
   in heaven and on earth,
   in the seas and all deeps. 
7He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
   he makes lightnings for the rain
   and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 


8He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
   both human beings and animals; 
9he sent signs and wonders
   into your midst, O Egypt,
   against Pharaoh and all his servants. 
10He struck down many nations
   and killed mighty kings- 
11Sihon, king of the Amorites,
   and Og, king of Bashan,
   and all the kingdoms of Canaan- 
12and gave their land as a heritage,
   a heritage to his people Israel. 


13Your name, O Lord, endures for ever,
   your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. 
14For the Lord will vindicate his people,
   and have compassion on his servants. 


15The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
   the work of human hands. 
16They have mouths, but they do not speak;
   they have eyes, but they do not see; 
17they have ears, but they do not hear,
   and there is no breath in their mouths. 
18Those who make them
   and all who trust them
   shall become like them. 


19O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
   O house of Aaron, bless the Lord! 
20O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
   You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord! 
21Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
   he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
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