Sunday 7 April 2013 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Sunday 7 April 2013  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 43:8-13

Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
   who are deaf, yet have ears! 
Let all the nations gather together,
   and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this,
   and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,
   and let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’ 
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
   and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor shall there be any after me. 
I, I am the Lord,
   and besides me there is no saviour. 
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
   when there was no strange god among you;
   and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. 
I am God, and also henceforth I am He;
   there is no one who can deliver from my hand;
   I work and who can hinder it?
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1 Peter 2:2-10

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
   a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him* will not be put to shame.’ 
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the very head of the corner’, 
and
‘A stone that makes them stumble,
   and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,* in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 
Once you were not a people,
   but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
   but now you have received mercy.
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John 14:1-7
 
‘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.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 146, 147

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul! 
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
   I will sing praises to my God all my life long. 


Do not put your trust in princes,
   in mortals, in whom there is no help. 
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
   on that very day their plans perish. 


Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
   whose hope is in the Lord their God, 
who made heaven and earth,
   the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith for ever; 
   who executes justice for the oppressed;
   who gives food to the hungry. 


The Lord sets the prisoners free; 
   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
   the Lord loves the righteous. 
The Lord watches over the strangers;
   he upholds the orphan and the widow,
   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 


The Lord will reign for ever,
   your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!


Psalm 147

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
   for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
   he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 
He heals the broken-hearted,
   and binds up their wounds. 
He determines the number of the stars;
   he gives to all of them their names. 
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
   his understanding is beyond measure. 
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
   he casts the wicked to the ground. 


Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
   make melody to our God on the lyre. 
He covers the heavens with clouds,
   prepares rain for the earth,
   makes grass grow on the hills. 
He gives to the animals their food,
   and to the young ravens when they cry. 
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
   nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;* 
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
   in those who hope in his steadfast love. 


Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
   Praise your God, O Zion! 
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
   he blesses your children within you. 
He grants peace* within your borders;
   he fills you with the finest of wheat. 
He sends out his command to the earth;
   his word runs swiftly. 
He gives snow like wool;
   he scatters frost like ashes. 
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold? 
He sends out his word, and melts them;
   he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 
He declares his word to Jacob,
   his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
   they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 111, 112, 113

Psalm 111

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
   in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 
Great are the works of the Lord,
   studied by all who delight in them. 
Full of honour and majesty is his work,
   and his righteousness endures for ever. 
He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
   the Lord is gracious and merciful. 
He provides food for those who fear him;
   he is ever mindful of his covenant. 
He has shown his people the power of his works,
   in giving them the heritage of the nations. 
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
   all his precepts are trustworthy. 
They are established for ever and ever,
   to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 
He sent redemption to his people;
   he has commanded his covenant for ever.
   Holy and awesome is his name. 
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
   all those who practise it* have a good understanding.
   His praise endures for ever.


Psalm 112

Praise the Lord!
   Happy are those who fear the Lord,
   who greatly delight in his commandments. 
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
   the generation of the upright will be blessed. 
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
   and their righteousness endures for ever. 
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
   they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. 
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
   who conduct their affairs with justice. 
For the righteous will never be moved;
   they will be remembered for ever. 
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
   their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. 
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
   their righteousness endures for ever;
   their horn is exalted in honour. 
The wicked see it and are angry;
   they gnash their teeth and melt away;
   the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.


Psalm 113

Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord;
   praise the name of the Lord. 


Blessed be the name of the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore. 
From the rising of the sun to its setting
   the name of the Lord is to be praised. 
The Lord is high above all nations,
   and his glory above the heavens. 


Who is like the Lord our God,
   who is seated on high, 
who looks far down
   on the heavens and the earth? 
He raises the poor from the dust,
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 
to make them sit with princes,
   with the princes of his people. 
He gives the barren woman a home,
   making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
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