Wednesday 24 October 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 24 October 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Lamentations 2:8-15

The Lord determined to lay in ruins
   the wall of daughter Zion;
he stretched the line;
   he did not withhold his hand from destroying;
he caused rampart and wall to lament;
   they languish together. 


9Her gates have sunk into the ground;
   he has ruined and broken her bars;
her king and princes are among the nations;
   guidance is no more,
and her prophets obtain
   no vision from the Lord. 


10The elders of daughter Zion
   sit on the ground in silence;
they have thrown dust on their heads
   and put on sackcloth;
the young girls of Jerusalem
   have bowed their heads to the ground. 


11My eyes are spent with weeping;
   my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out on the ground
   because of the destruction of my people,
because infants and babes faint
   in the streets of the city. 


12They cry to their mothers,
   'Where is bread and wine?'
as they faint like the wounded
   in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
   on their mothers' bosom. 


13What can I say for you, to what compare you,
   O daughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you,
   O virgin daughter Zion?
For vast as the sea is your ruin;
   who can heal you? 


14Your prophets have seen for you
   false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
   to restore your fortunes,
but have seen oracles for you
   that are false and misleading. 


15All who pass along the way
   clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their heads
   at daughter Jerusalem;
'Is this the city that was called
   the perfection of beauty,
   the joy of all the earth?' 
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1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,* but we will all
be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable body must
put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal
body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be
fulfilled:
'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 
55'Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?' 
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. 
58 Therefore, my beloved,* be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in
the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is
not in vain. 
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Matthew 12:1-14

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his
disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to
eat. 2When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, 'Look, your disciples
are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.' 3He said to them,
'Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were
hungry? 4He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence,
which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for
the priests. 5Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the
priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? 6I tell
you, something greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known
what this means, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice", you would not have
condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.' 
The Man with a Withered Hand9 He left that place and entered their
synagogue; 10a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him,
'Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?' so that they might accuse him.
11He said to them, 'Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls
into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful
to do good on the sabbath.' 13Then he said to the man, 'Stretch out your
hand.' He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.
14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy
him. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 38

Psalm 38

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
   or discipline me in your wrath. 
2For your arrows have sunk into me,
   and your hand has come down on me. 


3There is no soundness in my flesh
   because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
   because of my sin. 
4For my iniquities have gone over my head;
   they weigh like a burden too heavy for me. 


5My wounds grow foul and fester
   because of my foolishness; 
6I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
   all day long I go around mourning. 
7For my loins are filled with burning,
   and there is no soundness in my flesh. 
8I am utterly spent and crushed;
   I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 


9O Lord, all my longing is known to you;
   my sighing is not hidden from you. 
10My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
   as for the light of my eyes-it also has gone from me. 
11My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,
   and my neighbours stand far off. 


12Those who seek my life lay their snares;
   those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin,
   and meditate treachery all day long. 


13But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;
   like the mute, who cannot speak. 
14Truly, I am like one who does not hear,
   and in whose mouth is no retort. 


15But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;
   it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. 
16For I pray, 'Only do not let them rejoice over me,
   those who boast against me when my foot slips.' 


17For I am ready to fall,
   and my pain is ever with me. 
18I confess my iniquity;
   I am sorry for my sin. 
19Those who are my foes without cause* are mighty,
   and many are those who hate me wrongfully. 
20Those who render me evil for good
   are my adversaries because I follow after good. 


21Do not forsake me, O Lord;
   O my God, do not be far from me; 
22make haste to help me,
   O Lord, my salvation.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 119:25-48

Psalm 119:25-48

My soul clings to the dust;
   revive me according to your word. 
26When I told of my ways, you answered me;
   teach me your statutes. 
27Make me understand the way of your precepts,
   and I will meditate on your wondrous works. 
28My soul melts away for sorrow;
   strengthen me according to your word. 
29Put false ways far from me;
   and graciously teach me your law. 
30I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
   I set your ordinances before me. 
31I cling to your decrees, O Lord;
   let me not be put to shame. 
32I run the way of your commandments,
   for you enlarge my understanding. 


33Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
   and I will observe it to the end. 
34Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
   and observe it with my whole heart. 
35Lead me in the path of your commandments,
   for I delight in it. 
36Turn my heart to your decrees,
   and not to selfish gain. 
37Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
   give me life in your ways. 
38Confirm to your servant your promise,
   which is for those who fear you. 
39Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
   for your ordinances are good. 
40See, I have longed for your precepts;
   in your righteousness give me life. 


41Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
   your salvation according to your promise. 
42Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
   for I trust in your word. 
43Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
   for my hope is in your ordinances. 
44I will keep your law continually,
   for ever and ever. 
45I shall walk at liberty,
   for I have sought your precepts. 
46I will also speak of your decrees before kings,
   and shall not be put to shame; 
47I find my delight in your commandments,
   because I love them. 
48I revere your commandments, which I love,
   and I will meditate on your statutes. 
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