Friday 21 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 21 March 2008  (Good Friday)
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33

I am one who has seen affliction
   under the rod of God's * wrath; 
he has driven and brought me
   into darkness without any light; 
against me alone he turns his hand,
   again and again, all day long. 


He has made my flesh and my skin waste away,
   and broken my bones; 
he has besieged and enveloped me
   with bitterness and tribulation; 
he has made me sit in darkness
   like the dead of long ago. 


He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
   he has put heavy chains on me; 
though I call and cry for help,
   he shuts out my prayer; 
he has blocked my ways with hewn stones,
   he has made my paths crooked. 


The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
   is wormwood and gall! 
My soul continually thinks of it
   and is bowed down within me. 
But this I call to mind,
   and therefore I have hope: 


The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,*
   his mercies never come to an end; 
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness. 
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul,
   'therefore I will hope in him.' 


The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
   to the soul that seeks him. 
It is good that one should wait quietly
   for the salvation of the Lord. 
It is good for one to bear
   the yoke in youth, 
to sit alone in silence
   when the Lord has imposed it, 
to put one's mouth to the dust
   (there may yet be hope), 
to give one's cheek to the smiter,
   and be filled with insults. 


For the Lord will not
   reject for ever. 
Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
   according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 
for he does not willingly afflict
   or grieve anyone.
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1 Peter 1:10-20

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that
was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the
person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it
testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the
subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not
themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced
to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent
from heaven-things into which angels long to look!
 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.
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John 13:36-38

Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus answered,
'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow
afterwards.' Peter said to him, 'Lord, why can I not follow you now? I
will lay down my life for you.' Jesus answered, 'Will you lay down your
life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will
have denied me three times.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 95, 22

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
   let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 
For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods. 
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
   the heights of the mountains are his also. 
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 


O come, let us worship and bow down,
   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 
For he is our God,
   and we are the people of his pasture,
   and the sheep of his hand. 


O that today you would listen to his voice! 
   Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
   as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 
when your ancestors tested me,
   and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 
For forty years I loathed that generation
   and said, 'They are a people whose hearts go astray,
   and they do not regard my ways.' 
Therefore in my anger I swore,
   'They shall not enter my rest.'


Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? 
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
   and by night, but find no rest. 


Yet you are holy,
   enthroned on the praises of Israel. 
In you our ancestors trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them. 
To you they cried, and were saved;
   in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. 


But I am a worm, and not human;
   scorned by others, and despised by the people. 
All who see me mock at me;
   they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; 
'Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver-
   let him rescue the one in whom he delights!' 


Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
   you kept me safe on my mother's breast. 
On you I was cast from my birth,
   and since my mother bore me you have been my God. 
Do not be far from me,
   for trouble is near
   and there is no one to help. 


Many bulls encircle me,
   strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 
they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion. 


I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast; 
my mouth* is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death. 


For dogs are all around me;
   a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shrivelled;* 
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me; 
they divide my clothes among themselves,
   and for my clothing they cast lots. 


But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
   O my help, come quickly to my aid! 
Deliver my soul from the sword,
   my life* from the power of the dog! 
   Save me from the mouth of the lion! 


>From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued* me. 
I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;*
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
   stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 
For he did not despise or abhor
   the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,*
   but heard when I* cried to him. 


>From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will pay before those who fear him. 
The poor* shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
   May your hearts live for ever! 


All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before him.* 
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
   and he rules over the nations. 


To him,* indeed, shall all who sleep in* the earth bow down;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   and I shall live for him.* 
Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord, 
and* proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
   saying that he has done it.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 40:1-19, 54

Psalm 40:1-19

I waited patiently for the Lord;
   he inclined to me and heard my cry. 
He drew me up from the desolate pit,*
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure. 
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the Lord. 


Happy are those who make
   the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
   to those who go astray after false gods. 
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
   none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
   they would be more than can be counted. 


Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
   but you have given me an open ear.*
Burnt-offering and sin-offering
   you have not required. 
Then I said, 'Here I am;
   in the scroll of the book it is written of me.* 
I delight to do your will, O my God;
   your law is within my heart.' 


I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
   as you know, O Lord. 
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
   I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   from the great congregation. 


Do not, O Lord, withhold
   your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   keep me safe for ever. 
For evils have encompassed me
   without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
   until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
   and my heart fails me. 


Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
   O Lord, make haste to help me. 
Let all those be put to shame and confusion
   who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
   who desire my hurt. 
Let those be appalled because of their shame
   who say to me, 'Aha, Aha!' 


But may all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
   say continually, 'Great is the Lord!' 
As for me, I am poor and needy,
   but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   do not delay, O my God.


Psalm 54

Save me, O God, by your name,
   and vindicate me by your might. 
Hear my prayer, O God;
   give ear to the words of my mouth. 


For the insolent have risen against me,
   the ruthless seek my life;
   they do not set God before them.
          Selah 


But surely, God is my helper;
   the Lord is the upholder of* my life. 
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
   In your faithfulness, put an end to them. 


With a freewill-offering I will sacrifice to you;
   I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. 
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
   and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
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