Thursday 4 November 2010 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

 Thursday 4 November 2010 
DAILY LECTIONARY
 
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Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15
 
Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
   our ancestors in their generations.
The Lord apportioned to them* great glory,
   his majesty from the beginning.
There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
   and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
   those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
those who led the people by their counsels
   and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
   they were wise in their words of instruction;
those who composed musical tunes,
   or put verses in writing;
rich men endowed with resources,
   living peacefully in their homes—
all these were honoured in their generations,
   and were the pride of their times.
Some of them have left behind a name,
   so that others declare their praise.
But of others there is no memory;
   they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
   they and their children after them.
But these also were godly men,
   whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
their wealth will remain with their descendants,
   and their inheritance with their children’s children.*
Their descendants stand by the covenants;
   their children also, for their sake.
Their offspring will continue for ever,
   and their glory will never be blotted out.
Their bodies are buried in peace,
   but their name lives on generation after generation.
The assembly declares* their wisdom,
   and the congregation proclaims their praise.
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Revelation 16:12-21
 
The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (‘See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed,* not going about naked and exposed to shame.’) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.
 
 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine-cup of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,* dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.
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Luke 13:18-30
 
He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’
 And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with* three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
 Jesus* went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 71
 
Psalm 71
 
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
   let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
   incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress,* to save me,
   for you are my rock and my fortress.
 
 
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
   from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
   my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
   it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
 
 
I have been like a portent to many,
   but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
   and with your glory all day long.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
   do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me,
   and those who watch for my life consult together.
They say, ‘Pursue and seize that person
   whom God has forsaken,
   for there is no one to deliver.’
 
 
O God, do not be far from me;
   O my God, make haste to help me!
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
   let those who seek to hurt me
   be covered with scorn and disgrace.
But I will hope continually,
   and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
   of your deeds of salvation all day long,
   though their number is past my knowledge.
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God,
   I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
 
 
O God, from my youth you have taught me,
   and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and grey hairs,
   O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
   to all the generations to come.*
Your power and your righteousness, O God,
   reach the high heavens.
 
 
You who have done great things,
   O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
   will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
   you will bring me up again.
You will increase my honour,
   and comfort me once again.
 
 
I will also praise you with the harp
   for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
   O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy
   when I sing praises to you;
   my soul also, which you have rescued.
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
   have been put to shame, and disgraced.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 74
 
Psalm 74
 
O God, why do you cast us off for ever?
   Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
   which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
   Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
   the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
 
 
Your foes have roared within your holy place;
   they set up their emblems there.
At the upper entrance they hacked
   the wooden trellis with axes.*
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
   they smashed all its carved work.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
   they desecrated the dwelling-place of your name,
   bringing it to the ground.
They said to themselves, ‘We will utterly subdue them’;
   they burned all the meeting-places of God in the land.
 
 
We do not see our emblems;
   there is no longer any prophet,
   and there is no one among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
   Is the enemy to revile your name for ever?
Why do you hold back your hand;
   why do you keep your hand in* your bosom?
 
 
Yet God my King is from of old,
   working salvation in the earth.
You divided the sea by your might;
   you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
   you gave him as food* for the creatures of the wilderness.
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
   you dried up ever-flowing streams.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
   you established the luminaries* and the sun.
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
   you made summer and winter.
 
 
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
   and an impious people reviles your name.
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
   do not forget the life of your poor for ever.
 
 
Have regard for your* covenant,
   for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
   let the poor and needy praise your name.
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
   remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
Do not forget the clamour of your foes,
   the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
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