Saturday 21 January 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 21 January 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 46:1-13

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
   their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
   as burdens on weary animals. 
They stoop, they bow down together;
   they cannot save the burden,
   but themselves go into captivity. 

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
   all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
   carried from the womb; 
even to your old age I am he,
   even when you turn grey I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
   I will carry and will save. 

To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
   and compare me, as though we were alike? 
Those who lavish gold from the purse,
   and weigh out silver in the scales—
they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god;
   then they fall down and worship! 
They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
   they set it in its place, and it stands there;
   it cannot move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it does not answer
   or save anyone from trouble. 

Remember this and consider,*
   recall it to mind, you transgressors, 
   remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is no one like me, 
declaring the end from the beginning
   and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My purpose shall stand,
   and I will fulfil my intention’, 
calling a bird of prey from the east,
   the man for my purpose from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
   I have planned, and I will do it. 

Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
   you who are far from deliverance: 
I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off,
   and my salvation will not tarry;
I will put salvation in Zion,
   for Israel my glory.
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Ephesians 6:10-24

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put
on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. For our* struggle is not against enemies of
blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the
whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil
day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and
fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate
of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you
ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these,* take the
shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To
that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the
saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given
to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,* for
which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly,
as I must speak. 

 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus
will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister
in the Lord. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you
know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.

 Peace be to the whole community,* and love with faith, from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an
undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the
Gerasenes.* And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man
out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the
tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for
he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains
he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had
the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the
mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When
he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he
shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me,
Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment
me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean
spirit!’ Then Jesus* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied,
‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ He begged him earnestly not
to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great
herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits* begged him,
‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ So he gave them
permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine;
and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank
into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to
Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right
mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those
who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine
reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus* to leave their
neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been
possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus*
refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them
how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown
you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how
much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 30, 32

Psalm 30

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
   and did not let my foes rejoice over me. 
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
   and you have healed me. 
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
   restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.* 

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name. 
For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning. 

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
   ‘I shall never be moved.’ 
By your favour, O Lord,
   you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
   I was dismayed. 

To you, O Lord, I cried,
   and to the Lord I made supplication: 
‘What profit is there in my death,
   if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
   Will it tell of your faithfulness? 
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
   O Lord, be my helper!’ 

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
   you have taken off my sackcloth
   and clothed me with joy, 
so that my soul* may praise you and not be silent.
   O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.

Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered. 
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
   and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
   through my groaning all day long. 
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer.
          Selah 

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
   and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
          Selah 

Therefore let all who are faithful
   offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,* the rush of mighty waters
   shall not reach them. 
You are a hiding-place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
          Selah 

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   else it will not stay near you. 

Many are the torments of the wicked,
   but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. 
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
   and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 42, 43

Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
   so my soul longs for you, O God. 
My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
   the face of God? 
My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’ 

These things I remember,
   as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,*
   and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
   a multitude keeping festival. 
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God. 

My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar. 
Deep calls to deep
   at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
   have gone over me. 
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life. 

I say to God, my rock,
   ‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because the enemy oppresses me?’ 
As with a deadly wound in my body,
   my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’ 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

Psalm 43

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
   against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
   deliver me! 
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
   why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because of the oppression of the enemy? 

O send out your light and your truth;
   let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
   and to your dwelling. 
Then I will go to the altar of God,
   to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
   O God, my God. 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.
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