Friday 19 October 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Fri Oct 19 02:00:00 EDT 2007


Friday 19 October 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Jeremiah 38:14-28

King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the
third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, 'I
have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.' 15Jeremiah
said to Zedekiah, 'If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you
not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.' 16So King
Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, 'As the Lord lives, who
gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these
men who seek your life.' 
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of
hosts, the God of Israel, If you will only surrender to the officials of
the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall
not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18But if you
do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city
shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire,
and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.' 19King Zedekiah said
to Jeremiah, 'I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the
Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them and they would abuse me.'
20Jeremiah said, 'That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord
in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall
be spared. 21But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what
the Lord has shown me- 22a vision of all the women remaining in the
house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of
Babylon and saying,
"Your trusted friends have seduced you
   and have overcome you;
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
   they desert you." 
23All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans,
and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized
by the king of Babylon; and this city shall be burned with fire.' 
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'Do not let anyone else know of this
conversation, or you will die. 25If the officials should hear that I
have spoken with you, and they should come and say to you, "Just tell us
what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you
to death. What did the king say to you?" 26then you shall say to them,
"I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house
of Jonathan to die there." ' 27All the officials did come to Jeremiah
and questioned him; and he answered them in the very words the king had
commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not
been overheard. 28And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until
the day that Jerusalem was taken.
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1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters,* of the good news* that I
proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,
2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the
message that I proclaimed to you-unless you have come to believe in
vain. 
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had
received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third
day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers
and sisters* at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have
died.* 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of
all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the
least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked
harder than any of them-though it was not I, but the grace of God that
is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you
have come to believe.
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Matthew 11:1-6

Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on
from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. 
Messengers from John the Baptist2 When John heard in prison what the
Messiah* was doing, he sent word by his* disciples 3and said to him,
'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?' 4Jesus
answered them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind
receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers* are cleansed, the deaf
hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
6And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 16, 17

Psalm 16

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 
2I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord;
   I have no good apart from you.'*


3As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
   in whom is all my delight. 


4Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;*
   their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
   or take their names upon my lips. 


5The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
   you hold my lot. 
6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   I have a goodly heritage. 


7I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me. 
8I keep the Lord always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 


9Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
   my body also rests secure. 
10For you do not give me up to Sheol,
   or let your faithful one see the Pit. 


11You show me the path of life.
   In your presence there is fullness of joy;
   in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.



Psalm 17

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
   give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit. 
2From you let my vindication come;
   let your eyes see the right. 


3If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
   if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
   my mouth does not transgress. 
4As for what others do, by the word of your lips
   I have avoided the ways of the violent. 
5My steps have held fast to your paths;
   my feet have not slipped. 


6I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
   incline your ear to me, hear my words. 
7Wondrously show your steadfast love,
   O saviour of those who seek refuge
   from their adversaries at your right hand. 


8Guard me as the apple of the eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings, 
9from the wicked who despoil me,
   my deadly enemies who surround me. 
10They close their hearts to pity;
   with their mouths they speak arrogantly. 
11They track me down;* now they surround me;
   they set their eyes to cast me to the ground. 
12They are like a lion eager to tear,
   like a young lion lurking in ambush. 


13Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them!
   By your sword deliver my life from the wicked, 
14from mortals-by your hand, O Lord-
   from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.
May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;
   may their children have more than enough;
   may they leave something over to their little ones. 


15As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
   when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 22

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? 
2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
   and by night, but find no rest. 


3Yet you are holy,
   enthroned on the praises of Israel. 
4In you our ancestors trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them. 
5To you they cried, and were saved;
   in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. 


6But I am a worm, and not human;
   scorned by others, and despised by the people. 
7All who see me mock at me;
   they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; 
8'Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver-
   let him rescue the one in whom he delights!' 


9Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
   you kept me safe on my mother's breast. 
10On you I was cast from my birth,
   and since my mother bore me you have been my God. 
11Do not be far from me,
   for trouble is near
   and there is no one to help. 


12Many bulls encircle me,
   strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 
13they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion. 


14I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast; 
15my mouth* is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death. 


16For dogs are all around me;
   a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shrivelled;* 
17I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me; 
18they divide my clothes among themselves,
   and for my clothing they cast lots. 


19But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
   O my help, come quickly to my aid! 
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
   my life* from the power of the dog! 
21   Save me from the mouth of the lion! 


>From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued* me. 
22I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;*
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 
23You who fear the Lord, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
   stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 
24For he did not despise or abhor
   the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,*
   but heard when I* cried to him. 


25From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will pay before those who fear him. 
26The poor* shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
   May your hearts live for ever! 


27All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before him.* 
28For dominion belongs to the Lord,
   and he rules over the nations. 


29To him,* indeed, shall all who sleep in* the earth bow down;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   and I shall live for him.* 
30Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord, 
31and* proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
   saying that he has done it.
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