Saturday 16 February 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 16 February 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Genesis 41:1-13

After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
2and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows, and they
grazed in the reed grass. 3Then seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up
out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of
the Nile. 4The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows.
And Pharaoh awoke. 5Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; seven
ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6Then seven
ears, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them. 7The thin
ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and it
was a dream. 8In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and
called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told
them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to
Pharaoh. 
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, 'I remember my faults today.
10Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief
baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. 11We dreamed
on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning.
12A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the
guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an
interpretation to each according to his dream. 13As he interpreted to
us, so it turned out; I was restored to my office, and the baker was
hanged.'
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1 Corinthians 4:1-7

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's
mysteries. 2Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be
found trustworthy. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should
be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4I
am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.
It is the Lord who judges me. 5Therefore do not pronounce judgement
before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the
things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the
heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God. 
6 I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit,
brothers and sisters,* so that you may learn through us the meaning of
the saying, 'Nothing beyond what is written', so that none of you will
be puffed up in favour of one against another. 7For who sees anything
different in you?* What do you have that you did not receive? And if you
received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?
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Mark 2:23-3:6

One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their
way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to
him, 'Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?' 25And
he said to them, 'Have you never read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry and in need of food? 26He entered the house of
God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence,
which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some
to his companions.' 27Then he said to them, 'The sabbath was made for
humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28so the Son of Man is
lord even of the sabbath.' 
The Man with a Withered Hand3Again he entered the synagogue, and a man
was there who had a withered hand. 2They watched him to see whether he
would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3And he
said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Come forward.' 4Then he said
to them, 'Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save
life or to kill?' But they were silent. 5He looked around at them with
anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man,
'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians
against him, how to destroy him. 
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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.
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