Monday 3 September 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 3 September 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Chronicles 6:32-7:7

'Likewise when foreigners, who are not of your people Israel, come from
a distant land because of your great name, and your mighty hand, and
your outstretched arm, when they come and pray towards this house, 33may
you hear from heaven your dwelling-place, and do whatever the foreigners
ask of you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your
name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that
your name has been invoked on this house that I have built. 
34 'If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever
way you shall send them, and they pray to you towards this city that you
have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 35then hear
from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause. 
36 'If they sin against you-for there is no one who does not sin-and you
are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried
away captive to a land far or near; 37then if they come to their senses
in the land to which they have been taken captive, and repent, and plead
with you in the land of their captivity, saying, "We have sinned, and
have done wrong; we have acted wickedly"; 38if they repent with all
their heart and soul in the land of their captivity, to which they were
taken captive, and pray towards their land, which you gave to their
ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have
built for your name, 39then hear from heaven your dwelling-place their
prayer and their pleas, maintain their cause and forgive your people who
have sinned against you. 40Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your
ears attentive to prayer from this place. 
41'Now rise up, O Lord God, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
   and let your faithful rejoice in your goodness. 
42O Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
   Remember your steadfast love for your servant David.' 
Solomon Dedicates the Temple7When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire
came down from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering and the
sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2The priests
could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord
filled the Lord's house. 3When all the people of Israel saw the fire
come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down on
the pavement with their faces to the ground, and worshipped and gave
thanks to the Lord, saying,
'For he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.' 
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord.
5King Solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and one
hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people
dedicated the house of God. 6The priests stood at their posts; the
Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David
had made for giving thanks to the Lord-for his steadfast love endures
for ever-whenever David offered praises by their ministry. Opposite them
the priests sounded trumpets; and all Israel stood. 
7 Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the
house of the Lord; for there he offered the burnt-offerings and the fat
of the offerings of well-being because the bronze altar Solomon had made
could not hold the burnt-offering and the grain-offering and the fat
parts.
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James 2:1-13

My brothers and sisters,* do you with your acts of favouritism really
believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?* 2For if a person with gold
rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person
in dirty clothes also comes in, 3and if you take notice of the one
wearing the fine clothes and say, 'Have a seat here, please', while to
the one who is poor you say, 'Stand there', or, 'Sit at my feet',* 4have
you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.* Has not God chosen
the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom
that he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonoured
the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag
you into court? 7Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that
was invoked over you? 
8 You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the
scripture, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' 9But if you show
partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point
has become accountable for all of it. 11For the one who said, 'You shall
not commit adultery', also said, 'You shall not murder.' Now if you do
not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of
the law. 12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law
of liberty. 13For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has
shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.
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Mark 14:53-65

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the
elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54Peter had followed him at a
distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was
sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief
priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus
to put him to death; but they found none. 56For many gave false
testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57Some stood
up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58'We heard him say, "I
will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I
will build another, not made with hands." ' 59But even on this point
their testimony did not agree. 60Then the high priest stood up before
them and asked Jesus, 'Have you no answer? What is it that they testify
against you?' 61But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high
priest asked him, 'Are you the Messiah,* the Son of the Blessed One?'
62Jesus said, 'I am; and
"you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power",
and "coming with the clouds of heaven." ' 
63Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, 'Why do we still need
witnesses? 64You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?' All
of them condemned him as deserving death. 65Some began to spit on him,
to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, 'Prophesy!' The
guards also took him over and beat him.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 25

Psalm 25

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
2O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame;
   do not let my enemies exult over me. 
3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 


4Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths. 
5Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. 


6Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
   for they have been from of old. 
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
   according to your steadfast love remember me,
   for your goodness' sake, O Lord! 


8Good and upright is the Lord;
   therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 
9He leads the humble in what is right,
   and teaches the humble his way. 
10All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 


11For your name's sake, O Lord,
   pardon my guilt, for it is great. 
12Who are they that fear the Lord?
   He will teach them the way that they should choose. 


13They will abide in prosperity,
   and their children shall possess the land. 
14The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
   and he makes his covenant known to them. 
15My eyes are ever towards the Lord,
   for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 


16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   for I am lonely and afflicted. 
17Relieve the troubles of my heart,
   and bring me* out of my distress. 
18Consider my affliction and my trouble,
   and forgive all my sins. 


19Consider how many are my foes,
   and with what violent hatred they hate me. 
20O guard my life, and deliver me;
   do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
   for I wait for you. 


22Redeem Israel, O God,
   out of all its troubles.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 9, 15

Psalm 9

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 
2I will be glad and exult in you;
   I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 


3When my enemies turned back,
   they stumbled and perished before you. 
4For you have maintained my just cause;
   you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement. 


5You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
   you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 
6The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
   their cities you have rooted out;
   the very memory of them has perished. 


7But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
   he has established his throne for judgement. 
8He judges the world with righteousness;
   he judges the peoples with equity. 


9The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble. 
10And those who know your name put their trust in you,
   for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 


11Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
   Declare his deeds among the peoples. 
12For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
   he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 


13Be gracious to me, O Lord.
   See what I suffer from those who hate me;
   you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death, 
14so that I may recount all your praises,
   and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
   rejoice in your deliverance. 


15The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
   in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. 
16The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
   the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
          Higgaion. Selah


17The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
   all the nations that forget God. 


18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
   nor the hope of the poor perish for ever. 


19Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
   let the nations be judged before you. 
20Put them in fear, O Lord;
   let the nations know that they are only human.



Psalm 15

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill? 


2Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
   and speak the truth from their heart; 
3who do not slander with their tongue,
   and do no evil to their friends,
   nor take up a reproach against their neighbours; 
4in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
   but who honour those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 
5who do not lend money at interest,
   and do not take a bribe against the innocent. 


Those who do these things shall never be moved.
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