Tuesday 18 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 18 March 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Lamentations 1:17-22

Zion stretches out her hands,
   but there is no one to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
   that his neighbours should become his foes;
Jerusalem has become
   a filthy thing among them. 


18The Lord is in the right,
   for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
   and behold my suffering;
my young women and young men
   have gone into captivity. 


19I called to my lovers
   but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
   perished in the city
while seeking food
   to revive their strength. 


20See, O Lord, how distressed I am;
   my stomach churns,
my heart is wrung within me,
   because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
   in the house it is like death. 


21They heard how I was groaning,
   with no one to comfort me.
All my enemies heard of my trouble;
   they are glad that you have done it.
Bring on the day you have announced,
   and let them be as I am. 


22Let all their evildoing come before you;
   and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
   because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many
   and my heart is faint. 
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2 Corinthians 1:8-22

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,* of the
affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably
crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had
received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves
but on God who raises the dead. 10He who rescued us from so deadly a
peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he
will rescue us again, 11as you also join in helping us by your prayers,
so that many will give thanks on our* behalf for the blessing granted to
us through the prayers of many. 
The Postponement of Paul's Visit12 Indeed, this is our boast, the
testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with
frankness* and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace
of God-and all the more towards you. 13For we write to you nothing other
than what you can read and also understand; I hope you will understand
until the end- 14as you have already understood us in part-that on the
day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our boast. 
15 Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you
might have a double favour;* 16I wanted to visit you on my way to
Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me
on to Judea. 17Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my
plans according to ordinary human standards,* ready to say 'Yes, yes'
and 'No, no' at the same time? 18As surely as God is faithful, our word
to you has not been 'Yes and No.' 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not 'Yes
and No'; but in him it is always 'Yes.' 20For in him every one of God's
promises is a 'Yes.' For this reason it is through him that we say the
'Amen', to the glory of God. 21But it is God who establishes us with you
in Christ and has anointed us, 22by putting his seal on us and giving us
his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment.
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Mark 11:27-33

Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief
priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28and said, 'By what
authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do
them?' 29Jesus said to them, 'I will ask you one question; answer me,
and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Did the
baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.'
31They argued with one another, 'If we say, "From heaven", he will say,
"Why then did you not believe him?" 32But shall we say, "Of human
origin"?'-they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly
a prophet. 33So they answered Jesus, 'We do not know.' And Jesus said to
them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these
things.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 6, 12

Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
   or discipline me in your wrath. 
2Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
   O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 
3My soul also is struck with terror,
   while you, O Lord-how long? 


4Turn, O Lord, save my life;
   deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 
5For in death there is no remembrance of you;
   in Sheol who can give you praise? 


6I am weary with my moaning;
   every night I flood my bed with tears;
   I drench my couch with my weeping. 
7My eyes waste away because of grief;
   they grow weak because of all my foes. 


8Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
   for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 
9The Lord has heard my supplication;
   the Lord accepts my prayer. 
10All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
   they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.


Psalm 12

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
   the faithful have disappeared from humankind. 
2They utter lies to each other;
   with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 


3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
   the tongue that makes great boasts, 
4those who say, 'With our tongues we will prevail;
   our lips are our own-who is our master?' 


5'Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
   I will now rise up,' says the Lord;
   'I will place them in the safety for which they long.' 
6The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
   silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
   purified seven times. 


7You, O Lord, will protect us;
   you will guard us from this generation for ever. 
8On every side the wicked prowl,
   as vileness is exalted among humankind.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 94

Psalm 94

O Lord, you God of vengeance,
   you God of vengeance, shine forth! 
2Rise up, O judge of the earth;
   give to the proud what they deserve! 
3O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
   how long shall the wicked exult? 


4They pour out their arrogant words;
   all the evildoers boast. 
5They crush your people, O Lord,
   and afflict your heritage. 
6They kill the widow and the stranger,
   they murder the orphan, 
7and they say, 'The Lord does not see;
   the God of Jacob does not perceive.' 


8Understand, O dullest of the people;
   fools, when will you be wise? 
9He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see? 
10He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
   does he not chastise? 
11The Lord knows our thoughts,*
   that they are but an empty breath. 


12Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
   and whom you teach out of your law, 
13giving them respite from days of trouble,
   until a pit is dug for the wicked. 
14For the Lord will not forsake his people;
   he will not abandon his heritage; 
15for justice will return to the righteous,
   and all the upright in heart will follow it. 


16Who rises up for me against the wicked?
   Who stands up for me against evildoers? 
17If the Lord had not been my help,
   my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 
18When I thought, 'My foot is slipping',
   your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 
19When the cares of my heart are many,
   your consolations cheer my soul. 
20Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
   those who contrive mischief by statute? 
21They band together against the life of the righteous,
   and condemn the innocent to death. 
22But the Lord has become my stronghold,
   and my God the rock of my refuge. 
23He will repay them for their iniquity
   and wipe them out for their wickedness;
   the Lord our God will wipe them out.
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