Monday 4 December 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 4 December 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Amos 2:6-16

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;*
because they sell the righteous for silver,
   and the needy for a pair of sandals— 
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,
   and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same girl,
   so that my holy name is profaned; 
they lay themselves down beside every altar
   on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink
   wine bought with fines they imposed. 

Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
   whose height was like the height of cedars,
   and who was as strong as oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above,
   and his roots beneath. 
Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,
   and led you for forty years in the wilderness,
   to possess the land of the Amorite. 
And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
   and some of your youths to be nazirites.*
   Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?

says the Lord. 

But you made the nazirites* drink wine,
   and commanded the prophets,
   saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ 

So, I will press you down in your place,
   just as a cart presses down
   when it is full of sheaves.* 
Flight shall perish from the swift,
   and the strong shall not retain their strength,
   nor shall the mighty save their lives; 
those who handle the bow shall not stand,
   and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
   nor shall those who ride horses save their lives; 
and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
   shall flee away naked on that day,

says the Lord.
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2 Peter 1:1-11

Simeon* Peter, a servant* and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the
righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:*

 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord.
 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by* his own
glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his
precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape
from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may
become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you
must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and
goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and
self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and
godliness with mutual* affection, and mutual* affection with love. For
if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you
from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and
blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. Therefore,
brothers and sisters,* be all the more eager to confirm your call and
election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way,
entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
will be richly provided for you.
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Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into
the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied,
and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says
anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will
send them immediately.*’ This took place to fulfil what had been
spoken through the prophet, saying, 
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
   humble, and mounted on a donkey,
     and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ 
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought
the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on
them. A very large crowd* spread their cloaks on the road, and others
cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds
that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ 
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,
‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet
Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 1, 2, 3

Psalm 1

Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers; 
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night. 
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper. 

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,
   and the peoples plot in vain? 
The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers take counsel together,
   against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 
‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
   and cast their cords from us.’ 

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord has them in derision. 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’ 

I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
   today I have begotten you. 
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession. 
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ 

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
   be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
Serve the Lord with fear,
   with trembling kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
   for his wrath is quickly kindled. 

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me; 
many are saying to me,
   ‘There is no help for you* in God.’
          Selah 

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
   my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 
I cry aloud to the Lord,
   and he answers me from his holy hill.
          Selah 

I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 
I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people
   who have set themselves against me all around. 

Rise up, O Lord!
   Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
   you break the teeth of the wicked. 

Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
   may your blessing be on your people!
          Selah
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 4, 7

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
   You gave me room when I was in distress.
   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 

How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
          Selah 
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
   the Lord hears when I call to him. 

When you are disturbed,* do not sin;
   ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
          Selah 
Offer right sacrifices,
   and put your trust in the Lord. 

There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’ 
You have put gladness in my heart
   more than when their grain and wine abound. 

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Psalm 7

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
   save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
   they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. 

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
   if there is wrong in my hands, 
if I have repaid my ally with harm
   or plundered my foe without cause, 
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
   trample my life to the ground,
   and lay my soul in the dust.
          Selah 

Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
   lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
   awake, O my God;* you have appointed a judgement. 
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
   and over it take your seat* on high. 
The Lord judges the peoples;
   judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
   and according to the integrity that is in me. 

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
   but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
   O righteous God. 
God is my shield,
   who saves the upright in heart. 
God is a righteous judge,
   and a God who has indignation every day. 

If one does not repent, God* will whet his sword;
   he has bent and strung his bow; 
he has prepared his deadly weapons,
   making his arrows fiery shafts. 
See how they conceive evil,
   and are pregnant with mischief,
   and bring forth lies. 
They make a pit, digging it out,
   and fall into the hole that they have made. 
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
   and on their own heads their violence descends. 

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
   and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
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