Saturday 10 November 2018 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Saturday 10 November 2018  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Ecclesiasticus 51:1-12

I give you thanks, O Lord and King,
   and praise you, O God my Saviour.
I give thanks to your name, 
   for you have been my protector and helper
and have delivered me from destruction
   and from the trap laid by a slanderous tongue,
   from lips that fabricate lies.
In the face of my adversaries
   you have been my helper and delivered me,
   in the greatness of your mercy and of your name,
from grinding teeth about to devour me,
   from the hand of those seeking my life,
   from the many troubles I endured, 
from choking fire on every side,
   and from the midst of fire that I had not kindled, 
from the deep belly of Hades,
   from an unclean tongue and lying words— 
   the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king.
My soul drew near to death,
   and my life was on the brink of Hades below. 
They surrounded me on every side,
   and there was no one to help me;
I looked for human assistance,
   and there was none. 
Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord,
   and your kindness* from of old,
for you rescue those who wait for you
   and save them from the hand of their enemies. 
And I sent up my prayer from the earth,
   and begged for rescue from death. 
I cried out, ‘Lord, you are my Father;*
   do not forsake me in the days of trouble,
   when there is no help against the proud. 
I will praise your name continually,
   and will sing hymns of thanksgiving.’
My prayer was heard, 
   for you saved me from destruction
   and rescued me in time of trouble.
For this reason I thank you and praise you,
   and I bless the name of the Lord.
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Revelation 18:1-14

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.’

 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
‘Alas, alas, the great city,
   Babylon, the mighty city!
For in one hour your judgement has come.’

 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.* 
‘The fruit for which your soul longed
   has gone from you,
and all your dainties and your splendour
   are lost to you,
   never to be found again!’
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Luke 14:1-11

On one occasion when Jesus* was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ But they were silent. So Jesus* took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child* or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ And they could not reply to this.
 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 75, 76

Psalm 75

We give thanks to you, O God;
   we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds. 


At the set time that I appoint
   I will judge with equity. 
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
   it is I who keep its pillars steady.
          Selah 
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast’,
   and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn; 
do not lift up your horn on high,
   or speak with insolent neck.’ 


For not from the east or from the west
   and not from the wilderness comes lifting up; 
but it is God who executes judgement,
   putting down one and lifting up another. 
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
   with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
   and all the wicked of the earth
   shall drain it down to the dregs. 
But I will rejoice* for ever;
   I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 


All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
   but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.


Psalm 76

In Judah God is known,
   his name is great in Israel. 
His abode has been established in Salem,
   his dwelling-place in Zion. 
There he broke the flashing arrows,
   the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
          Selah 


Glorious are you, more majestic
   than the everlasting mountains.* 
The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;
   they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
   was able to lift a hand. 
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
   both rider and horse lay stunned. 


But you indeed are awesome!
   Who can stand before you
   when once your anger is roused? 
From the heavens you uttered judgement;
   the earth feared and was still 
when God rose up to establish judgement,
   to save all the oppressed of the earth.
          Selah 


Human wrath serves only to praise you,
   when you bind the last bit of your* wrath around you. 
Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;
   let all who are around him bring gifts
   to the one who is awesome, 
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
   who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 23, 27

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;* 
   he restores my soul.*
He leads me in right paths*
   for his name’s sake. 


Even though I walk through the darkest valley,*
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me. 


You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows. 
Surely* goodness and mercy* shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.*


Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold* of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid? 


When evildoers assail me
   to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
   they shall stumble and fall. 


Though an army encamp against me,
   my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
   yet I will be confident. 


One thing I asked of the Lord,
   that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple. 


For he will hide me in his shelter
   in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
   he will set me high on a rock. 


Now my head is lifted up
   above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
   sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 


Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
   be gracious to me and answer me! 
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
   Your face, Lord, do I seek. 
   Do not hide your face from me. 


Do not turn your servant away in anger,
   you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
   O God of my salvation! 
If my father and mother forsake me,
   the Lord will take me up. 


Teach me your way, O Lord,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies. 
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they are breathing out violence. 


I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord!
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