Tuesday 31 August 2021 DAILY LECTIONARY

Tue Aug 31 02:00:03 EDT 2021

Tuesday 31 August 2021
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 8:65-9:9

So Solomon held the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a
great assembly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt—before
the Lord our God, for seven days.* On the eighth day he sent the
people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents,
joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness that the Lord
had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.
When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the
king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, the Lord
appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at
Gibeon. The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your
plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you
have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will
be there for all time. As for you, if you will walk before me, as
David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness,
doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my
statutes and my ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne
over Israel for ever, as I promised your father David, saying,
“There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.”

 ‘If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do
not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you,
but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut Israel
off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have
consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will
become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples. This house will become
a heap of ruins;* everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will
hiss; and they will say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this
land and to this house?” Then they will say, “Because they have
forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the
land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshipping them and serving
them; therefore the Lord has brought this disaster upon them.” ’
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James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith
but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is
naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their
bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has
no works, is dead.

 But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me
your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons
believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person,
that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham
justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see
that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to
completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says,
‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a
person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not
Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the
messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
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Mark 14:66-72

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of
the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she
stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from
Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand
what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt.*
Then the cock crowed.* And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began
again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But
again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again
said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a
Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not
know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed
for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him,
‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And
he broke down and wept.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 26, 28

Psalm 26

Vindicate me, O Lord,
   for I have walked in my integrity,
   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind. 
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
   and I walk in faithfulness to you.* 

I do not sit with the worthless,
   nor do I consort with hypocrites; 
I hate the company of evildoers,
   and will not sit with the wicked. 

I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go around your altar, O Lord, 
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
   and telling all your wondrous deeds. 

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
   and the place where your glory abides. 
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
   nor my life with the bloodthirsty, 
those in whose hands are evil devices,
   and whose right hands are full of bribes. 

But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
   redeem me, and be gracious to me. 
My foot stands on level ground;
   in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 28

To you, O Lord, I call;
   my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
   I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 
Hear the voice of my supplication,
   as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
   towards your most holy sanctuary.* 

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
   with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbours,
   while mischief is in their hearts. 
Repay them according to their work,
   and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
   render them their due reward. 
Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,
   or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more. 

Blessed be the Lord,
   for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. 
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
   in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
   and with my song I give thanks to him. 

The Lord is the strength of his people;
   he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
   be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 36, 39

Psalm 36

Transgression speaks to the wicked
   deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
   before their eyes. 
For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
   that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 
The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
   they have ceased to act wisely and do good. 
They plot mischief while on their beds;
   they are set on a way that is not good;
   they do not reject evil. 

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
   your faithfulness to the clouds. 
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
   your judgements are like the great deep;
   you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. 

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
   All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
They feast on the abundance of your house,
   and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 
For with you is the fountain of life;
   in your light we see light. 

O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
   and your salvation to the upright of heart! 
Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
   or the hand of the wicked drive me away. 
There the evildoers lie prostrate;
   they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Psalm 39

I said, ‘I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.’ 
I was silent and still;
   I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse, 
   my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
   then I spoke with my tongue: 

‘Lord, let me know my end,
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting my life is. 
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. 
          Selah 
   Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
   they heap up, and do not know who will gather. 

‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
   My hope is in you. 
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
   Do not make me the scorn of the fool. 
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it. 
Remove your stroke from me;
   I am worn down by the blows* of your hand. 

‘You chastise mortals
   in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
   surely everyone is a mere breath. 
          Selah

‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,
   and give ear to my cry;
   do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
   an alien, like all my forebears. 
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
   before I depart and am no more.’
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