Wednesday 12 September 2018 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Wednesday 12 September 2018  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Job 29:1,30:1-2,16-31

Job again took up his discourse and said:

‘But now they make sport of me,
   those who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
   to set with the dogs of my flock. 
What could I gain from the strength of their hands?
   All their vigour is gone. 
‘And now my soul is poured out within me;
   days of affliction have taken hold of me. 
The night racks my bones,
   and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. 
With violence he seizes my garment;*
   he grasps me by* the collar of my tunic. 
He has cast me into the mire,
   and I have become like dust and ashes. 
I cry to you and you do not answer me;
   I stand, and you merely look at me. 
You have turned cruel to me;
   with the might of your hand you persecute me. 
You lift me up on the wind, you make me ride on it,
   and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. 
I know that you will bring me to death,
   and to the house appointed for all living. 


‘Surely one does not turn against the needy,*
   when in disaster they cry for help.* 
Did I not weep for those whose day was hard?
   Was not my soul grieved for the poor? 
But when I looked for good, evil came;
   and when I waited for light, darkness came. 
My inward parts are in turmoil, and are never still;
   days of affliction come to meet me. 
I go about in sunless gloom;
   I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. 
I am a brother of jackals,
   and a companion of ostriches. 
My skin turns black and falls from me,
   and my bones burn with heat. 
My lyre is turned to mourning,
   and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.
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Acts 14:19-28

But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
 After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, ‘It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.’ And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work* that they had completed. When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.
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John 11:1-16

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,* ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus* was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

 Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin,* said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 119:49-72

Psalm 119:49-72

Remember your word to your servant,
   in which you have made me hope. 
This is my comfort in my distress,
   that your promise gives me life. 
The arrogant utterly deride me,
   but I do not turn away from your law. 
When I think of your ordinances from of old,
   I take comfort, O Lord. 
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
   those who forsake your law. 
Your statutes have been my songs
   wherever I make my home. 
I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
   and keep your law. 
This blessing has fallen to me,
   for I have kept your precepts. 


The Lord is my portion;
   I promise to keep your words. 
I implore your favour with all my heart;
   be gracious to me according to your promise. 
When I think of your ways,
   I turn my feet to your decrees; 
I hurry and do not delay
   to keep your commandments. 
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
   I do not forget your law. 
At midnight I rise to praise you,
   because of your righteous ordinances. 
I am a companion of all who fear you,
   of those who keep your precepts. 
The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
   teach me your statutes. 


You have dealt well with your servant,
   O Lord, according to your word. 
Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
   for I believe in your commandments. 
Before I was humbled I went astray,
   but now I keep your word. 
You are good and do good;
   teach me your statutes. 
The arrogant smear me with lies,
   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts. 
Their hearts are fat and gross,
   but I delight in your law. 
It is good for me that I was humbled,
   so that I might learn your statutes. 
The law of your mouth is better to me
   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 49, 53

Psalm 49

Hear this, all you peoples;
   give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 
both low and high,
   rich and poor together. 
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
   I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp. 


Why should I fear in times of trouble,
   when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, 
those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of the abundance of their riches? 
Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,*
   there is no price one can give to God for it. 
For the ransom of life is costly,
   and can never suffice, 
that one should live on for ever
   and never see the grave.* 


When we look at the wise, they die;
   fool and dolt perish together
   and leave their wealth to others. 
Their graves* are their homes for ever,
   their dwelling-places to all generations,
   though they named lands their own. 
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
   they are like the animals that perish. 


Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
   the end of those* who are pleased with their lot.
          Selah 
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
   Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,*
   and their form shall waste away;
   Sheol shall be their home.* 
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
   for he will receive me.
          Selah 


Do not be afraid when some become rich,
   when the wealth of their houses increases. 
For when they die they will carry nothing away;
   their wealth will not go down after them. 
Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
   —for you are praised when you do well for yourself— 
they* will go to the company of their ancestors,
   who will never again see the light. 
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
   they are like the animals that perish.


Psalm 53

Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
   They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
   there is no one who does good. 


God looks down from heaven on humankind
   to see if there are any who are wise,
   who seek after God. 


They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
   there is no one who does good,
   no, not one. 


Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
   who eat up my people as they eat bread,
   and do not call upon God? 


There they shall be in great terror,
   in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;*
   they will be put to shame,* for God has rejected them. 


O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
   When God restores the fortunes of his people,
   Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
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