Wednesday 19 April 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 19 April 2023  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Daniel 2:17-30

Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of
heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with
the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery
was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed
the God of heaven. 
Daniel said:
‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
   for wisdom and power are his. 
He changes times and seasons,
   deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
   and knowledge to those who have understanding. 
He reveals deep and hidden things;
   he knows what is in the darkness,
   and light dwells with him. 
To you, O God of my ancestors,
   I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
   and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
   for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’
 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to
destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not destroy
the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give
the king the interpretation.’

 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him:
‘I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the
king the interpretation.’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was
Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen
and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered the king, ‘No wise men,
enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery
that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals
mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will
happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as
you lay in bed were these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came
thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries
disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not
been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any
other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known
to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
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1 John 2:12-17

I am writing to you, little children,
   because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. 
I am writing to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
   because you have conquered the evil one. 
I write to you, children,
   because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
   because you are strong
   and the word of God abides in you,
     and you have overcome the evil one.

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the
Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the
world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in
riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world
and its desire* are passing away, but those who do the will of God
live for ever.

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John 17:20-26
 
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who
will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As
you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,* so
that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you
have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are
one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so
that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even
as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have
given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have
given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

 ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you;
and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them,
and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved
me may be in them, and I in them.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 119:1-24

Psalm 119:1-24

Happy are those whose way is blameless,
   who walk in the law of the Lord. 
Happy are those who keep his decrees,
   who seek him with their whole heart, 
who also do no wrong,
   but walk in his ways. 
You have commanded your precepts
   to be kept diligently. 
O that my ways may be steadfast
   in keeping your statutes! 
Then I shall not be put to shame,
   having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 
I will praise you with an upright heart,
   when I learn your righteous ordinances. 
I will observe your statutes;
   do not utterly forsake me. 

How can young people keep their way pure?
   By guarding it according to your word. 
With my whole heart I seek you;
   do not let me stray from your commandments. 
I treasure your word in my heart,
   so that I may not sin against you. 
Blessed are you, O Lord;
   teach me your statutes. 
With my lips I declare
   all the ordinances of your mouth. 
I delight in the way of your decrees
   as much as in all riches. 
I will meditate on your precepts,
   and fix my eyes on your ways. 
I will delight in your statutes;
   I will not forget your word. 

Deal bountifully with your servant,
   so that I may live and observe your word. 
Open my eyes, so that I may behold
   wondrous things out of your law. 
I live as an alien in the land;
   do not hide your commandments from me. 
My soul is consumed with longing
   for your ordinances at all times. 
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
   who wander from your commandments; 
take away from me their scorn and contempt,
   for I have kept your decrees. 
Even though princes sit plotting against me,
   your servant will meditate on your statutes. 
Your decrees are my delight,
   they are my counsellors.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 12, 13, 14

Psalm 12

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
   the faithful have disappeared from humankind. 
They utter lies to each other;
   with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
   the tongue that makes great boasts, 
those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
   our lips are our own—who is our master?’ 

‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
   I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
   ‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’ 
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
   silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
   purified seven times. 

You, O Lord, will protect us;
   you will guard us from this generation for ever. 
On every side the wicked prowl,
   as vileness is exalted among humankind.

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
   How long will you hide your face from me? 
How long must I bear pain* in my soul,
   and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 
and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;
   my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. 

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 
I will sing to the Lord,
   because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 14

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

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

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

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
   who eat up my people as they eat bread,
   and do not call upon the Lord? 

There they shall be in great terror,
   for God is with the company of the righteous. 
You would confound the plans of the poor,
   but the Lord is their refuge. 

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