Wednesday 11 January 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 11 January 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 41:1-16

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
   let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
   let us together draw near for judgement. 

Who has roused a victor from the east,
   summoned him to his service?
He delivers up nations to him,
   and tramples kings under foot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
   like driven stubble with his bow. 
He pursues them and passes on safely,
   scarcely touching the path with his feet. 
Who has performed and done this,
   calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am first,
   and will be with the last. 
The coastlands have seen and are afraid,
   the ends of the earth tremble;
   they have drawn near and come. 
Each one helps the other,
   saying to one another, ‘Take courage!’ 
The artisan encourages the goldsmith,
   and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who
strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, ‘It is good’;
   and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved. 
But you, Israel, my servant,
   Jacob, whom I have chosen,
   the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
   and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, ‘You are my servant,
   I have chosen you and not cast you off ’; 
do not fear, for I am with you,
   do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
   I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. 

Yes, all who are incensed against you
   shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
   shall be as nothing and shall perish. 
You shall seek those who contend with you,
   but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
   shall be as nothing at all. 
For I, the Lord your God,
   hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear,
   I will help you.’ 

Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
   you insect* Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
   your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 
Now, I will make of you a threshing-sledge,
   sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
   and you shall make the hills like chaff. 
You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
   and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
   in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
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Ephesians 2:1-10

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived,
following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power
of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are
disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our
flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by
nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in
mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were
dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ*—by
grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us
with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages
to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness
towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not
the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has
made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand to be our way of life.
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Mark 1:29-45

As soon as they* left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon
and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in
bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and
took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and
she began to serve them.

 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or
possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the
door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast
out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because
they knew him.
 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out
to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions
hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is
searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring
towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what
I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the
message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
 A leper* came to him begging him, and kneeling* he said to him,
‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity,* Jesus*
stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do
choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy* left him, and he
was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once,
saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show
yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses
commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to
proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus* could no
longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and
people came to him from every quarter.
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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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