Wednesday 13 February 2019 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Wednesday 13 February 2019  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 59:15b-21

Truth is lacking,
   and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. 


The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
   that there was no justice. 
He saw that there was no one,
   and was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm brought him victory,
   and his righteousness upheld him. 
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
   and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
   and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle. 
According to their deeds, so will he repay;
   wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
   to the coastlands he will render requital. 
So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
   and those in the east, his glory;
for he will come like a pent-up stream
   that the wind of the Lord drives on. 


And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
   to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord. 
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and for ever.
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2 Timothy 1:15-2:13

You are aware that all who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain; when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly* searched for me and found me —may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus. 

You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.

 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us; 
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself. 
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Mark 10:1-16
 
He left that place and went to the region of Judea and* beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.

 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,* and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’
 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 119:97-120

Psalm 119:97-120

Oh, how I love your law!
   It is my meditation all day long. 
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
   for it is always with me. 
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
   for your decrees are my meditation. 
I understand more than the aged,
   for I keep your precepts. 
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
   in order to keep your word. 
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
   for you have taught me. 
How sweet are your words to my taste,
   sweeter than honey to my mouth! 
Through your precepts I get understanding;
   therefore I hate every false way. 


Your word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path. 
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
   to observe your righteous ordinances. 
I am severely afflicted;
   give me life, O Lord, according to your word. 
Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
   and teach me your ordinances. 
I hold my life in my hand continually,
   but I do not forget your law. 
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
   but I do not stray from your precepts. 
Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
   they are the joy of my heart. 
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
   for ever, to the end. 


I hate the double-minded,
   but I love your law. 
You are my hiding-place and my shield;
   I hope in your word. 
Go away from me, you evildoers,
   that I may keep the commandments of my God. 
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
   and let me not be put to shame in my hope. 
Hold me up, that I may be safe
   and have regard for your statutes continually. 
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
   for their cunning is in vain. 
All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
   therefore I love your decrees. 
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
   and I am afraid of your judgements.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 81, 82

Psalm 81

Sing aloud to God our strength;
   shout for joy to the God of Jacob. 
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
   the sweet lyre with the harp. 
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
   at the full moon, on our festal day. 
For it is a statute for Israel,
   an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 
He made it a decree in Joseph,
   when he went out over* the land of Egypt. 


I hear a voice I had not known: 
‘I relieved your* shoulder of the burden;
   your* hands were freed from the basket. 
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
   I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
   I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
          Selah 
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
   O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 
There shall be no strange god among you;
   you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 
I am the Lord your God,
   who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
   Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 


‘But my people did not listen to my voice;
   Israel would not submit to me. 
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
   to follow their own counsels. 
O that my people would listen to me,
   that Israel would walk in my ways! 
Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
   and turn my hand against their foes. 
Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
   and their doom would last for ever. 
I would feed you* with the finest of the wheat,
   and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’


Psalm 82

God has taken his place in the divine council;
   in the midst of the gods he holds judgement: 
‘How long will you judge unjustly
   and show partiality to the wicked?
          Selah 
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
   maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 
Rescue the weak and the needy;
   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’ 


They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
   they walk around in darkness;
   all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 


I say, ‘You are gods,
   children of the Most High, all of you; 
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
   and fall like any prince.’* 


Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
   for all the nations belong to you!
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