Tuesday 3 September 2013 DAILY LECTIONARY

Tue Sep 3 01:00:09 EDT 2013

Tuesday 3 September 2013 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 8:65-9:9

So Solomon held the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a great assembly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt—before the Lord our God, for seven days.* 66On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness that the Lord had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel. 
God Appears Again to Solomon9When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, 5then I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised your father David, saying, “There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.” 
6 ‘If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples. 8This house will become a heap of ruins;* everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?” 9Then they will say, “Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshipping them and serving them; therefore the Lord has brought this disaster upon them.” ’ ******************************************************************
James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 
18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. 
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Mark 14:66-72

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ 68But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt.* Then the cock crowed.* 69And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ 70But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ 71But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ 72At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 26, 28

Psalm 26

Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 
2Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind. 
3For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you.* 

4I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites; 
5I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked. 

6I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go around your altar, O Lord, 
7singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds. 

8O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
   and the place where your glory abides. 
9Do not sweep me away with sinners,
   nor my life with the bloodthirsty, 
10those in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes. 

11But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me. 
12My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 28

To you, O Lord, I call;
   my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
   I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 
2Hear the voice of my supplication,
   as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
   towards your most holy sanctuary.* 

3Do not drag me away with the wicked,
   with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbours,
   while mischief is in their hearts. 
4Repay them according to their work,
   and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
   render them their due reward. 
5Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
   or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more. 

6Blessed be the Lord,
   for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. 
7The Lord is my strength and my shield;
   in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
   and with my song I give thanks to him. 

8The Lord is the strength of his people;
   he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 
9O save your people, and bless your heritage;
   be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 36, 39

Psalm 36

Transgression speaks to the wicked
   deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
   before their eyes. 
2For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
   that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 
3The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
   they have ceased to act wisely and do good. 
4They plot mischief while on their beds;
   they are set on a way that is not good;
   they do not reject evil. 

5Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
   your faithfulness to the clouds. 
6Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
   your judgements are like the great deep;
   you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. 

7How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
   All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
8They feast on the abundance of your house,
   and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 
9For with you is the fountain of life;
   in your light we see light. 

10O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
   and your salvation to the upright of heart! 
11Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
   or the hand of the wicked drive me away. 
12There the evildoers lie prostrate;
   they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Psalm 39

I said, ‘I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.’ 
2I was silent and still;
   I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse, 
3   my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
   then I spoke with my tongue: 

4‘Lord, let me know my end,
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting my life is. 
5You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. 
          Selah 
6   Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
   they heap up, and do not know who will gather. 

7‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
   My hope is in you. 
8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
   Do not make me the scorn of the fool. 
9I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it. 
10Remove your stroke from me;
   I am worn down by the blows* of your hand. 

11‘You chastise mortals
   in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
   surely everyone is a mere breath. 
          Selah

12‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,
   and give ear to my cry;
   do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
   an alien, like all my forebears. 
13Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
   before I depart and am no more.’
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