Sunday 14 September 2014 DAILY LECTIONARY

Sun Sep 14 01:00:12 EDT 2014

Sunday 14 September 2014 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Job 38:1,18-41

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 
Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
   Declare, if you know all this. 

‘Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
   and where is the place of darkness, 
that you may take it to its territory
   and that you may discern the paths to its home? 
Surely you know, for you were born then,
   and the number of your days is great! 

‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
   or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
   for the day of battle and war? 
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
   or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? 

‘Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain,
   and a way for the thunderbolt, 
to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
   on the desert, which is empty of human life, 
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
   and to make the ground put forth grass? 

‘Has the rain a father,
   or who has begotten the drops of dew? 
From whose womb did the ice come forth,
   and who has given birth to the hoar-frost of heaven? 
The waters become hard like stone,
   and the face of the deep is frozen. 

‘Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
   or loose the cords of Orion? 
Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
   or can you guide the Bear with its children? 
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
   Can you establish their rule on the earth? 

‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
   so that a flood of waters may cover you? 
Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
   and say to you, “Here we are”? 
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,*
   or given understanding to the mind?* 
Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
   Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, 
when the dust runs into a mass
   and the clods cling together? 

‘Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
   or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 
when they crouch in their dens,
   or lie in wait in their covert? 
Who provides for the raven its prey,
   when its young ones cry to God,
   and wander about for lack of food?
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Revelation 18:1-8

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendour. He called out with a mighty voice,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
   It has become a dwelling-place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
   a haunt of every foul bird,
   a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.* 
For all the nations have drunk*
   of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
   and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power* of her luxury.’

 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
‘Come out of her, my people,
   so that you do not take part in her sins,
and so that you do not share in her plagues; 
for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
   and God has remembered her iniquities. 
Render to her as she herself has rendered,
   and repay her double for her deeds;
   mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed. 
As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
   so give her a like measure of torment and grief.
Since in her heart she says,
   “I rule as a queen;
I am no widow,
   and I will never see grief”, 
therefore her plagues will come in a single day—
   pestilence and mourning and famine—
and she will be burned with fire;
   for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.’
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Matthew 5:21-26

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister,* you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult* a brother or sister,* you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell* of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister* has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister,* and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court* with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 24, 29

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
   the world, and those who live in it; 
for he has founded it on the seas,
   and established it on the rivers. 

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
   And who shall stand in his holy place? 
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
   who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
   and do not swear deceitfully. 
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
   and vindication from the God of their salvation. 
Such is the company of those who seek him,
   who seek the face of the God of Jacob.*
          Selah 

Lift up your heads, O gates!
   and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is the King of glory?
   The Lord, strong and mighty,
   the Lord, mighty in battle. 
Lift up your heads, O gates!
   and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is this King of glory?
   The Lord of hosts,
   he is the King of glory.
          Selah

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,*
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendour. 

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters. 
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox. 

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,*
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’ 

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever. 
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace!
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 8, 84

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

You have set your glory above the heavens. 
   Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
   to silence the enemy and the avenger. 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established; 
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals* that you care for them? 

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,*
   and crowned them with glory and honour. 
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
   you have put all things under their feet, 
all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field, 
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O Lord of hosts! 
My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
   to the living God. 

Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
   my King and my God. 
Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise.
          Selah 

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.* 
As they go through the valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
   the early rain also covers it with pools. 
They go from strength to strength;
   the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
          Selah 
Behold our shield, O God;
   look on the face of your anointed. 

For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than live in the tents of wickedness. 
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favour and honour.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
   from those who walk uprightly. 
O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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