Thursday 19 January 2017 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Thursday 19 January 2017 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 45:5-17

I am the Lord, and there is no other;
   besides me there is no god.
   I arm you, though you do not know me, 
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
   and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
   I am the Lord, and there is no other. 
I form light and create darkness,
   I make weal and create woe;
   I the Lord do all these things. 


Shower, O heavens, from above,
   and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,*
   and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
   I the Lord have created it. 


Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
   earthen vessels with the potter!*
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
   or ‘Your work has no handles’? 
Woe to anyone who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
   or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labour?’ 
Thus says the Lord,
   the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question me* about my children,
   or command me concerning the work of my hands? 
I made the earth,
   and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
   and I commanded all their host. 
I have aroused Cyrus* in righteousness,
   and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
   and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
   says the Lord of hosts. 
Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,*
   and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
   they shall follow you;
   they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying,
   ‘God is with you alone, and there is no other;
   there is no god besides him.’ 
Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
   O God of Israel, the Saviour. 
All of them are put to shame and confounded,
   the makers of idols go in confusion together. 
But Israel is saved by the Lord
   with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
   to all eternity.
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Ephesians 5:15-33

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.* ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
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Mark 4:21-34 

He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’
 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms: Psalm 37:1-18

Psalm 37:1-18

Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers, 
for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb. 


Trust in the Lord, and do good;
   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 
Take delight in the Lord,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart. 


Commit your way to the Lord;
   trust in him, and he will act. 
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
   and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 


Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
   do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
   over those who carry out evil devices. 


Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
   Do not fret—it leads only to evil. 
For the wicked shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 


Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 
But the meek shall inherit the land,
   and delight in abundant prosperity. 


The wicked plot against the righteous,
   and gnash their teeth at them; 
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he sees that their day is coming. 


The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to kill those who walk uprightly; 
their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken. 


Better is a little that the righteous person has
   than the abundance of many wicked. 
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
   but the Lord upholds the righteous. 


The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
   and their heritage will abide for ever;
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 37:19-42

Psalm 37:19-42

they are not put to shame in evil times,
   in the days of famine they have abundance. 


But the wicked perish,
   and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
   they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 


The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
   but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
   but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 


Our steps* are made firm by the Lord,
   when he delights in our* way; 
though we stumble,* we* shall not fall headlong,
   for the Lord holds us* by the hand. 


I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or their children begging bread. 
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
   and their children become a blessing. 


Depart from evil, and do good;
   so you shall abide for ever. 
For the Lord loves justice;
   he will not forsake his faithful ones. 


The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
   but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 
The righteous shall inherit the land,
   and live in it for ever. 


The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
   and their tongues speak justice. 
The law of their God is in their hearts;
   their steps do not slip. 


The wicked watch for the righteous,
   and seek to kill them. 
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
   or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 


Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
   you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 


I have seen the wicked oppressing,
   and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.* 
Again I* passed by, and they were no more;
   though I sought them, they could not be found. 


Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
   for there is posterity for the peaceable. 
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
   the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 


The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
   he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
   he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.
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