Monday 9 August 2021 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 9 August 2021 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 13:23-39

After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is
near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. Absalom came
to the king, and said, ‘Your servant has sheepshearers; will the
king and his servants please go with your servant?’ But the king
said to Absalom, ‘No, my son, let us not all go, or else we will be
burdensome to you.’ He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him
his blessing. Then Absalom said, ‘If not, please let my brother
Amnon go with us.’ The king said to him, ‘Why should he go with
you?’ But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the
king’s sons go with him. Absalom made a feast like a king’s
feast.* Then Absalom commanded his servants, ‘Watch when Amnon’s
heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, “Strike Amnon”,
then kill him. Do not be afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be
courageous and valiant.’ So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as
Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose, and each
mounted his mule and fled.

 While they were on the way, the report came to David that Absalom
had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left. The
king rose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground; and all his
servants who were standing by tore their garments. But Jonadab, the
son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, ‘Let not my lord suppose
that they have killed all the young men the king’s sons; Amnon alone
is dead. This has been determined by Absalom from the day Amnon* raped
his sister Tamar. Now therefore, do not let my lord the king take it
to heart, as if all the king’s sons were dead; for Amnon alone is
dead.’

 But Absalom fled. When the young man who kept watch looked up, he
saw many people coming from the Horonaim road* by the side of the
mountain. Jonadab said to the king, ‘See, the king’s sons have
come; as your servant said, so it has come about.’ As soon as he had
finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived, and raised their voices
and wept; and the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.

 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur.
David mourned for his son day after day. Absalom, having fled to
Geshur, stayed there for three years. And the heart of* the king went
out, yearning for Absalom; for he was now consoled over the death of
Amnon.
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Acts 20:17-38

>From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the
church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:

‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the
first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility
and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots
of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming
the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God
and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the
Spirit,* I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to
me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city
that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not
count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to
the good news of God’s grace.

 ‘And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about
proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I
declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any
of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose
of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God*
that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.* I know that after I
have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the
flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in
order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert,
remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn
everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message
of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you
the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s
silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with
my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have
given you an example that by such work we must support the weak,
remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is
more blessed to give than to receive.” ’

 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and
prayed. There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and
kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they
would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.
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Mark 9:42-50

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones
who believe in me,* it would be better for you if a great millstone
were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your
hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter
life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,* to the
unquenchable fire.* And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it
off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and
to be thrown into hell.*,* And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear
it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye
than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,* where their worm
never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire.* Salt is good; but if salt
has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?* Have salt in
yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 89:1-18

Psalm 89:1-18

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,* for ever;
   with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all
generations. 
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
   your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. 

You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
   I have sworn to my servant David: 
“I will establish your descendants for ever,
   and build your throne for all generations.” ’
          Selah 

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
   your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. 
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
   Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, 
a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
   great and awesome* above all that are around him? 
O Lord God of hosts,
   who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
   Your faithfulness surrounds you. 
You rule the raging of the sea;
   when its waves rise, you still them. 
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
   you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
   the world and all that is in it—you have founded them. 
The north and the south*—you created them;
   Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 
You have a mighty arm;
   strong is your hand, high your right hand. 
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
   steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 
Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
   who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; 
they exult in your name all day long,
   and extol* your righteousness. 
For you are the glory of their strength;
   by your favour our horn is exalted. 
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
   our king to the Holy One of Israel.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 89:19-52

Psalm 89:19-52

Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
   ‘I have set the crown* on one who is mighty,
   I have exalted one chosen from the people. 
I have found my servant David;
   with my holy oil I have anointed him; 
my hand shall always remain with him;
   my arm also shall strengthen him. 
The enemy shall not outwit him,
   the wicked shall not humble him. 
I will crush his foes before him
   and strike down those who hate him. 
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
   and in my name his horn shall be exalted. 
I will set his hand on the sea
   and his right hand on the rivers. 
He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,
   my God, and the Rock of my salvation!” 
I will make him the firstborn,
   the highest of the kings of the earth. 
For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
   and my covenant with him will stand firm. 
I will establish his line for ever,
   and his throne as long as the heavens endure. 
If his children forsake my law
   and do not walk according to my ordinances, 
if they violate my statutes
   and do not keep my commandments, 
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
   and their iniquity with scourges; 
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,
   or be false to my faithfulness. 
I will not violate my covenant,
   or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 
Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
   I will not lie to David. 
His line shall continue for ever,
   and his throne endure before me like the sun. 
It shall be established for ever like the moon,
   an enduring witness in the skies.’
          Selah 

But now you have spurned and rejected him;
   you are full of wrath against your anointed. 
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
   you have defiled his crown in the dust. 
You have broken through all his walls;
   you have laid his strongholds in ruins. 
All who pass by plunder him;
   he has become the scorn of his neighbours. 
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
   you have made all his enemies rejoice. 
Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
   and you have not supported him in battle. 
You have removed the sceptre from his hand,*
   and hurled his throne to the ground. 
You have cut short the days of his youth;
   you have covered him with shame.
          Selah 

How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
   How long will your wrath burn like fire? 
Remember how short my time is—*
   for what vanity you have created all mortals! 
Who can live and never see death?
   Who can escape the power of Sheol?
          Selah 

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
   which by your faithfulness you swore to David? 
Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;
   how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,* 
with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
   with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed. 

Blessed be the Lord for ever.Amen and Amen.
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