Saturday 26 May 2018 DAILY LECTIONARY

Sat May 26 01:00:02 EDT 2018

Saturday 26 May 2018  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Proverbs 8:22-36

The Lord created me at the beginning* of his work,*
   the first of his acts of long ago. 
Ages ago I was set up,
   at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
   when there were no springs abounding with water. 
Before the mountains had been shaped,
   before the hills, I was brought forth— 
when he had not yet made earth and fields,*
   or the world’s first bits of soil. 
When he established the heavens, I was there,
   when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 
when he made firm the skies above,
   when he established the fountains of the deep, 
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
   so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 
   then I was beside him, like a master worker;*
and I was daily his* delight,
   rejoicing before him always, 
rejoicing in his inhabited world
   and delighting in the human race. 

‘And now, my children, listen to me:
   happy are those who keep my ways. 
Hear instruction and be wise,
   and do not neglect it. 
Happy is the one who listens to me,
   watching daily at my gates,
   waiting beside my doors. 
For whoever finds me finds life
   and obtains favour from the Lord; 
but those who miss me injure themselves;
   all who hate me love death.’
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3 John 1-13

The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. I was overjoyed when some of the friends* arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely, how you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends,* even though they are strangers to you; they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God; for they began their journey for the sake of Christ,* accepting no support from non-believers.* Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth.
 I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends,* and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church.

 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Everyone has testified favourably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also testify for him,* and you know that our testimony is true.
 I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.

 Peace to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.
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Matthew 12:15-21

When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds* followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 
‘Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
   my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
   and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
   nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 
He will not break a bruised reed
   or quench a smouldering wick
until he brings justice to victory. 
   And in his name the Gentiles will hope.’ 
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 20, 21:1-14

Psalm 20

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
   The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
   and give you support from Zion. 
May he remember all your offerings,
   and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.
          Selah 

May he grant you your heart’s desire,
   and fulfil all your plans. 
May we shout for joy over your victory,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions. 

Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
   he will answer him from his holy heaven
   with mighty victories by his right hand. 
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
   but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. 
They will collapse and fall,
   but we shall rise and stand upright. 

Give victory to the king, O Lord;
   answer us when we call.*

Psalm 21:1-14 

In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
   and in your help how greatly he exults! 
You have given him his heart’s desire,
   and have not withheld the request of his lips.
          Selah 
For you meet him with rich blessings;
   you set a crown of fine gold on his head. 
He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
   length of days for ever and ever. 
His glory is great through your help;
   splendour and majesty you bestow on him. 
You bestow on him blessings for ever;
   you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 
For the king trusts in the Lord,
   and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

Your hand will find out all your enemies;
   your right hand will find out those who hate you. 
You will make them like a fiery furnace
   when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
   and fire will consume them. 
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
   and their children from among humankind. 
If they plan evil against you,
   if they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 
For you will put them to flight;
   you will aim at their faces with your bows. 

Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
   We will sing and praise your power.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 110:1-7, 116, 117

Psalm 110:1-7

The Lord says to my lord,
   ‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 

The Lord sends out from Zion
   your mighty sceptre.
   Rule in the midst of your foes. 
Your people will offer themselves willingly
   on the day you lead your forces
   on the holy mountains.*
From the womb of the morning,
   like dew, your youth* will come to you. 
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
   ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’* 

The Lord is at your right hand;
   he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 
He will execute judgement among the nations,
   filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
   over the wide earth. 
He will drink from the stream by the path;
   therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications. 
Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 
The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish. 
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’ 

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful. 
The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me. 
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 

For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling. 
I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’; 
I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’ 

What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me? 
I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord, 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people. 
Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones. 
O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds. 
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people, 
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples! 
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!
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EVE OF TRINITY SUNDAY

Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
   O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honour and majesty, 
   wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent, 
   you set the beams of your* chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your* chariot,
   you ride on the wings of the wind, 
you make the winds your* messengers,
   fire and flame your* ministers. 

You set the earth on its foundations,
   so that it shall never be shaken. 
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
   the waters stood above the mountains. 
At your rebuke they flee;
   at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
   to the place that you appointed for them. 
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
   so that they might not again cover the earth. 

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills, 
giving drink to every wild animal;
   the wild asses quench their thirst. 
By the streams* the birds of the air have their habitation;
   they sing among the branches. 
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
   and plants for people to use,*
to bring forth food from the earth, 
   and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
   and bread to strengthen the human heart. 
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
   the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 
In them the birds build their nests;
   the stork has its home in the fir trees. 
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
   the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. 
You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting. 
You make darkness, and it is night,
   when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 
The young lions roar for their prey,
   seeking their food from God. 
When the sun rises, they withdraw
   and lie down in their dens. 
People go out to their work
   and to their labour until the evening. 

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures. 
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great. 
There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 

These all look to you
   to give them their food in due season; 
when you give to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust. 
When you send forth your spirit,* they are created;
   and you renew the face of the ground. 

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
   may the Lord rejoice in his works— 
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke. 
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the Lord. 
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

Ecclesiasticus 42:15-25

I will now call to mind the works of the Lord,
   and will declare what I have seen.
By the word of the Lord his works are made;
   and all his creatures do his will.* 
The sun looks down on everything with its light,
   and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. 
The Lord has not empowered even his holy ones
   to recount all his marvellous works,
which the Lord the Almighty has established
   so that the universe may stand firm in his glory. 
He searches out the abyss and the human heart;
   he understands their innermost secrets.
For the Most High knows all that may be known;
   he sees from of old the things that are to come.* 
He discloses what has been and what is to be,
   and he reveals the traces of hidden things. 
No thought escapes him,
   and nothing is hidden from him. 
He has set in order the splendours of his wisdom;
   he is from all eternity one and the same.
Nothing can be added or taken away,
   and he needs no one to be his counsellor. 
How desirable are all his works,
   and how sparkling they are to see!* 
All these things live and remain for ever;
   each creature is preserved to meet a particular need.* 
All things come in pairs, one opposite to the other,
   and he has made nothing incomplete. 
Each supplements the virtues of the other.
   Who could ever tire of seeing his glory?

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,* from whom every family* in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
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