Tuesday 26 August 2014 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Tuesday 26 August 2014  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Job 6:1-4,8-15,21

Then Job answered: 
‘O that my vexation were weighed,
   and all my calamity laid in the balances! 
For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
   therefore my words have been rash. 
For the arrows of the Almighty* are in me;
   my spirit drinks their poison;
   the terrors of God are arrayed against me. 
‘O that I might have my request,
   and that God would grant my desire; 
that it would please God to crush me,
   that he would let loose his hand and cut me off! 
This would be my consolation;
   I would even exult* in unrelenting pain;
   for I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 
What is my strength, that I should wait?
   And what is my end, that I should be patient? 
Is my strength the strength of stones,
   or is my flesh bronze? 
In truth I have no help in me,
   and any resource is driven from me. 


‘Those who withhold* kindness from a friend
   forsake the fear of the Almighty.* 
My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,
   like freshets that pass away, 
Such you have now become to me;*
   you see my calamity, and are afraid.
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Acts 9:32-43

Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers,* he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralysed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.* She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
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John 6:60-71

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’

 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’* Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.’ He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot,* for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 5, 6

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
   give heed to my sighing. 
Listen to the sound of my cry,
   my King and my God,
   for to you I pray. 
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. 


For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
   evil will not sojourn with you. 
The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
   you hate all evildoers. 
You destroy those who speak lies;
   the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. 


But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
   will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
   in awe of you. 
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies;
   make your way straight before me. 


For there is no truth in their mouths;
   their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
   they flatter with their tongues. 
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
   let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
   for they have rebelled against you. 


But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
   let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
   so that those who love your name may exult in you. 
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
   you cover them with favour as with a shield.


Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
   or discipline me in your wrath. 
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
   O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 
My soul also is struck with terror,
   while you, O Lord—how long? 


Turn, O Lord, save my life;
   deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
   in Sheol who can give you praise? 


I am weary with my moaning;
   every night I flood my bed with tears;
   I drench my couch with my weeping. 
My eyes waste away because of grief;
   they grow weak because of all my foes. 


Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
   for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 
The Lord has heard my supplication;
   the Lord accepts my prayer. 
All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
   they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 10, 11

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
   let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 


For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
   those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord. 
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
   all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’ 


Their ways prosper at all times;
   your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
   as for their foes, they scoff at them. 
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
   throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’ 


Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
   under their tongues are mischief and iniquity. 
They sit in ambush in the villages;
   in hiding-places they murder the innocent. 


Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 
   they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
   they seize the poor and drag them off in their net. 


They stoop, they crouch,
   and the helpless fall by their might. 
They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
   he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’ 


Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
   do not forget the oppressed. 
Why do the wicked renounce God,
   and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’? 


But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
   that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
   you have been the helper of the orphan. 


Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
   seek out their wickedness until you find none. 
The Lord is king for ever and ever;
   the nations shall perish from his land. 


O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
   you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear 
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
   so that those from earth may strike terror no more.*


Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
   ‘Flee like a bird to the mountains;* 
for look, the wicked bend the bow,
   they have fitted their arrow to the string,
   to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. 
If the foundations are destroyed,
   what can the righteous do?’ 


The Lord is in his holy temple;
   the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
   His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. 
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
   and his soul hates the lover of violence. 
On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulphur;
   a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
   the upright shall behold his face.
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