Saturday 15 September 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 15 September 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 18:41-19:8

Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of
rushing rain.' 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to
the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put
his face between his knees. 43He said to his servant, 'Go up now, look
towards the sea.' He went up and looked, and said, 'There is nothing.'
Then he said, 'Go again seven times.' 44At the seventh time he said,
'Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand is rising out of
the sea.' Then he said, 'Go and say to Ahab, "Harness your chariot and
go down before the rain stops you." ' 45In a little while the heavens
grew black with clouds and wind; there was heavy rain. Ahab rode off and
went to Jezreel. 46But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up
his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 
Elijah Flees from Jezebel19Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done,
and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel
sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So may the gods do to me, and more
also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this
time tomorrow.' 3Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life,
and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant
there. 
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and
sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: 'It is
enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my
ancestors.' 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 'Get up and eat.' 6He
looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar
of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the Lord
came a second time, touched him, and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise
the journey will be too much for you.' 8He got up, and ate and drank;
then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty
nights to Horeb the mount of God.
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Philippians 3:17-4:7

I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly* call of God
in Christ Jesus. 15Let those of us then who are mature be of the same
mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will
reveal to you. 16Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. 
17 Brothers and sisters,* join in imitating me, and observe those who
live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies
of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell
you even with tears. 19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly;
and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly
things. 20But our citizenship* is in heaven, and it is from there that
we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He will transform
the body of our humiliation* so that it may be conformed to the body of
his glory,* by the power that also enables him to make all things
subject to himself. 41Therefore, my brothers and sisters,* whom I love
and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my
beloved. 
Exhortations2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind
in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion,* help these
women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel,
together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in
the book of life. 
4 Rejoice* in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.* 5Let your
gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. 
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Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by
him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by
you, and do you come to me?' 15But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so
now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.'
Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came
up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a
voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved,* with whom I am
well pleased.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 55

Psalm 55

Give ear to my prayer, O God;
   do not hide yourself from my supplication. 
2Attend to me, and answer me;
   I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught 3by the noise of the enemy,
   because of the clamour of the wicked.
For they bring* trouble upon me,
   and in anger they cherish enmity against me. 


4My heart is in anguish within me,
   the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 
5Fear and trembling come upon me,
   and horror overwhelms me. 
6And I say, 'O that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest; 
7truly, I would flee far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;
          Selah 
8I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
   from the raging wind and tempest.' 


9Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;
   for I see violence and strife in the city. 
10Day and night they go around it
   on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it; 
11   ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
   do not depart from its market-place. 


12It is not enemies who taunt me-
   I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me-
   I could hide from them. 
13But it is you, my equal,
   my companion, my familiar friend, 
14with whom I kept pleasant company;
   we walked in the house of God with the throng. 
15Let death come upon them;
   let them go down alive to Sheol;
   for evil is in their homes and in their hearts. 


16But I call upon God,
   and the Lord will save me. 
17Evening and morning and at noon
   I utter my complaint and moan,
   and he will hear my voice. 
18He will redeem me unharmed
   from the battle that I wage,
   for many are arrayed against me. 
19God, who is enthroned from of old,
          Selah
   will hear, and will humble them-
because they do not change,
   and do not fear God. 


20My companion laid hands on a friend
   and violated a covenant with me* 
21with speech smoother than butter,
   but with a heart set on war;
with words that were softer than oil,
   but in fact were drawn swords. 


22Cast your burden* on the Lord,
   and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
   the righteous to be moved. 


23But you, O God, will cast them down
   into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
   shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 138, 139:1-23

Psalm 138

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
   before the gods I sing your praise; 
2I bow down towards your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your
faithfulness;
   for you have exalted your name and your word
   above everything.* 
3On the day I called, you answered me,
   you increased my strength of soul.* 


4All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
   for they have heard the words of your mouth. 
5They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
   for great is the glory of the Lord. 
6For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
   but the haughty he perceives from far away. 


7Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
   and your right hand delivers me. 
8The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
   your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
   Do not forsake the work of your hands.



Psalm 139:1-23

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away. 
3You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways. 
4Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely. 
5You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me. 
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it. 


7Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence? 
8If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 
9If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 
10even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast. 
11If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night', 
12even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 


13For it was you who formed my inward parts;
   you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
   Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well. 
15   My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
   intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 
16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
   all the days that were formed for me,
   when none of them as yet existed. 
17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
   How vast is the sum of them! 
18I try to count them-they are more than the sand;
   I come to the end*-I am still with you. 


19O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
   and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me- 
20those who speak of you maliciously,
   and lift themselves up against you for evil!* 
21Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
   And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 
22I hate them with perfect hatred;
   I count them my enemies. 
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my thoughts. 
24See if there is any wicked* way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.*
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