Tuesday 1 April 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 1 April 2008  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 15:1-21

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
'I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
   horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. 
The Lord is my strength and my might,*
   and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
   my father's God, and I will exalt him. 
The Lord is a warrior;
   the Lord is his name. 


'Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
   his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.* 
The floods covered them;
   they went down into the depths like a stone. 
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power-
   your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. 
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
   you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble. 
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
   the floods stood up in a heap;
   the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 
The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake,
   I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
   I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them." 
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
   they sank like lead in the mighty waters. 


'Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
   Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
   awesome in splendour, doing wonders? 
You stretched out your right hand,
   the earth swallowed them. 


'In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
   you guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 
The peoples heard, they trembled;
   pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 
Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
   trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
   all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. 
Terror and dread fell upon them;
   by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
   until the people whom you acquired passed by. 
You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own
possession,
   the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
   the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. 
The Lord will reign for ever and ever.'

 When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers
went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon
them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand;
and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.
And Miriam sang to them:
'Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.'
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1 Peter 1:13-25

Therefore prepare your minds for action;* discipline yourselves; set all
your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is
revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires
that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is
holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, 'You
shall be holy, for I am holy.'

 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially
according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your
exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited
from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but
with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or
blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was
revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come
to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so
that your faith and hope are set on God.

 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth*
so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply* from the
heart.* You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable
seed, through the living and enduring word of God.* For
'All flesh is like grass
   and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
   and the flower falls, 
but the word of the Lord endures for ever.'
That word is the good news that was announced to you.
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John 14:18-31

'I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while
the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live,
you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them
are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love them and reveal myself to them.' Judas (not Iscariot)
said to him, 'Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and
not to the world?' Jesus answered him, 'Those who love me will keep my
word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make
our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and
the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

 'I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the
Advocate,* the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as
the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them
be afraid. You heard me say to you, "I am going away, and I am coming to
you." If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this
before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no
longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has
no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the
world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 5, 6

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
   give heed to my sighing. 
Listen to the sound of my cry,
   my King and my God,
   for to you I pray. 
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. 


For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
   evil will not sojourn with you. 
The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
   you hate all evildoers. 
You destroy those who speak lies;
   the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. 


But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
   will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
   in awe of you. 
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies;
   make your way straight before me. 


For there is no truth in their mouths;
   their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
   they flatter with their tongues. 
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
   let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
   for they have rebelled against you. 


But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
   let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
   so that those who love your name may exult in you. 
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
   you cover them with favour as with a shield.


Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
   or discipline me in your wrath. 
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
   O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 
My soul also is struck with terror,
   while you, O Lord-how long? 


Turn, O Lord, save my life;
   deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
   in Sheol who can give you praise? 


I am weary with my moaning;
   every night I flood my bed with tears;
   I drench my couch with my weeping. 
My eyes waste away because of grief;
   they grow weak because of all my foes. 


Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
   for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 
The Lord has heard my supplication;
   the Lord accepts my prayer. 
All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
   they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 10, 11

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor-
   let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 


For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
   those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord. 
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, 'God will not seek it
out';
   all their thoughts are, 'There is no God.' 


Their ways prosper at all times;
   your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
   as for their foes, they scoff at them. 
They think in their heart, 'We shall not be moved;
   throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.' 


Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
   under their tongues are mischief and iniquity. 
They sit in ambush in the villages;
   in hiding-places they murder the innocent. 


Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 
   they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
   they seize the poor and drag them off in their net. 


They stoop, they crouch,
   and the helpless fall by their might. 
They think in their heart, 'God has forgotten,
   he has hidden his face, he will never see it.' 


Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
   do not forget the oppressed. 
Why do the wicked renounce God,
   and say in their hearts, 'You will not call us to account'? 


But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
   that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
   you have been the helper of the orphan. 


Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
   seek out their wickedness until you find none. 
The Lord is king for ever and ever;
   the nations shall perish from his land. 


O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
   you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear 
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
   so that those from earth may strike terror no more.*


Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
   'Flee like a bird to the mountains;* 
for look, the wicked bend the bow,
   they have fitted their arrow to the string,
   to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. 
If the foundations are destroyed,
   what can the righteous do?' 


The Lord is in his holy temple;
   the Lord's throne is in heaven.
   His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. 
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
   and his soul hates the lover of violence. 
On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulphur;
   a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
   the upright shall behold his face.
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