Saturday 28 December 2013 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Saturday 28 December 2013
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Morning Psalms: Psalm 2, 26

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 26

Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind. 
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you.* 


I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites; 
I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked. 


I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go around your altar, O Lord, 
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds. 


O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
   and the place where your glory abides. 
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
   nor my life with the bloodthirsty, 
those in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes. 


But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me. 
My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.
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Isaiah 49:13-23

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
   break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
   and will have compassion on his suffering ones. 


But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
   my Lord has forgotten me.’ 
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
   or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
   yet I will not forget you. 
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
   your walls are continually before me. 
Your builders outdo your destroyers,*
   and those who laid you waste go away from you. 
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
   they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
   you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
   and like a bride you shall bind them on. 


Surely your waste and your desolate places
   and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
   and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 
The children born in the time of your bereavement
   will yet say in your hearing:
‘The place is too crowded for me;
   make room for me to settle.’ 
Then you will say in your heart,
   ‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
   exiled and put away—
   so who has reared these?
I was left all alone—
   where then have these come from?’ 


Thus says the Lord God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
   and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 
Kings shall be your foster-fathers,
   and their queens your nursing-mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
   and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
   those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. ************************************************************************
Matthew 18:1-14

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!

 ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell* of fire.
 ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.* What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your* Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 19

Psalm 19

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
   and the firmament* proclaims his handiwork. 
Day to day pours forth speech,
   and night to night declares knowledge. 
There is no speech, nor are there words;
   their voice is not heard; 
yet their voice* goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world. 


In the heavens* he has set a tent for the sun, 
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
   and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
   and its circuit to the end of them;
   and nothing is hidden from its heat. 


The law of the Lord is perfect,
   reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
   making wise the simple; 
the precepts of the Lord are right,
   rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
   enlightening the eyes; 
the fear of the Lord is pure,
   enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
   and righteous altogether. 
More to be desired are they than gold,
   even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
   and drippings of the honeycomb. 


Moreover by them is your servant warned;
   in keeping them there is great reward. 
But who can detect their errors?
   Clear me from hidden faults. 
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;*
   do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
   and innocent of great transgression. 


Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
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Isaiah 54:1-13

Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
   burst into song and shout,
   you who have not been in labour!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
   than the children of her that is married, says the Lord. 
Enlarge the site of your tent,
   and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
   and strengthen your stakes. 
For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
   and your descendants will possess the nations
   and will settle the desolate towns. 


Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
   do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
   and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. 
For your Maker is your husband,
   the Lord of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
   the God of the whole earth he is called. 
For the Lord has called you
   like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
   says your God. 
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
   but with great compassion I will gather you. 
In overflowing wrath for a moment
   I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
   says the Lord, your Redeemer. 


This is like the days of Noah to me:
   Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
   would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
   and will not rebuke you. 
For the mountains may depart
   and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
   and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
   says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 


O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
   I am about to set your stones in antimony,
   and lay your foundations with sapphires.* 
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
   your gates of jewels,
   and all your wall of precious stones. 
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
   and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
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Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
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