Monday 31 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 31 March 2008  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 14:21-31

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea
back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land;
and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry
ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their
left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of
Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch
the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian
army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged* their chariot
wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, 'Let us
flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against
Egypt.'
 Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea, so
that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and
chariot drivers.' So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before
it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and
covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh
that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the
Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a
wall for them on their right and on their left.

 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw
the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the
Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and
believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
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1 Peter 1:1-12

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia,
and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and
sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be
sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great
mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that
is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who
are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice,* even if now
for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the
genuineness of your faith-being more precious than gold that, though
perishable, is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory
and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen*
him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe
in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are
receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 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!
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John 14:1-17

'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe* in God, believe also in
me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not
so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?* And if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to
myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way
to the place where I am going.'* Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not
know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus said to him,
'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. If you know me, you will know* my Father also. From
now on you do know him and have seen him.'

 Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be
satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time,
Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I
am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I
do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you
do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I
tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do
and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to
the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me* for anything, I
will do it.
 'If you love me, you will keep* my commandments. And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate,* to be with you for ever.
This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with
you, and he will be in* you.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 1, 2, 3

Psalm 1

Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers; 
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night. 
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper. 


The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.


Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,
   and the peoples plot in vain? 
The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers take counsel together,
   against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 
'Let us burst their bonds asunder,
   and cast their cords from us.' 


He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord has them in derision. 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
'I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.' 


I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, 'You are my son;
   today I have begotten you. 
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession. 
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
   and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.' 


Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
   be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
Serve the Lord with fear,
   with trembling kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
   for his wrath is quickly kindled. 


Happy are all who take refuge in him.


Psalm 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me; 
many are saying to me,
   'There is no help for you* in God.'
          Selah 


But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
   my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 
I cry aloud to the Lord,
   and he answers me from his holy hill.
          Selah 


I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 
I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people
   who have set themselves against me all around. 


Rise up, O Lord!
   Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
   you break the teeth of the wicked. 


Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
   may your blessing be on your people!
          Selah
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 4, 7

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
   You gave me room when I was in distress.
   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 


How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
          Selah 
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
   the Lord hears when I call to him. 


When you are disturbed,* do not sin;
   ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
          Selah 
Offer right sacrifices,
   and put your trust in the Lord. 


There are many who say, 'O that we might see some good!
   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!' 
You have put gladness in my heart
   more than when their grain and wine abound. 


I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.


Psalm 7

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
   save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
   they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. 


O Lord my God, if I have done this,
   if there is wrong in my hands, 
if I have repaid my ally with harm
   or plundered my foe without cause, 
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
   trample my life to the ground,
   and lay my soul in the dust.
          Selah 


Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
   lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
   awake, O my God;* you have appointed a judgement. 
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
   and over it take your seat* on high. 
The Lord judges the peoples;
   judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
   and according to the integrity that is in me. 


O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
   but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
   O righteous God. 
God is my shield,
   who saves the upright in heart. 
God is a righteous judge,
   and a God who has indignation every day. 


If one does not repent, God* will whet his sword;
   he has bent and strung his bow; 
he has prepared his deadly weapons,
   making his arrows fiery shafts. 
See how they conceive evil,
   and are pregnant with mischief,
   and bring forth lies. 
They make a pit, digging it out,
   and fall into the hole that they have made. 
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
   and on their own heads their violence descends. 


I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
   and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
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