Sunday 2 July 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Sunday 2 July 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 10:1-16

Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him;
he said, ‘The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel.
You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them
from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign
to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage: When
you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in
the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, “The
donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has
stopped worrying about them and is worrying about you, saying: What
shall I do about my son?” Then you shall go on from there further
and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will
meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves
of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They will greet you and
give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from them. After
that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, at the place where the
Philistine garrison is; there, as you come to the town, you will meet
a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine,
flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic
frenzy. Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be
in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different
person. Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do,
for God is with you. And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then
I will come down to you to present burnt-offerings and offer
sacrifices of well-being. For seven days you shall wait, until I come
to you and show you what you shall do.’ 
As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all
these signs were fulfilled that day. When they were going from there
to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed
him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them. When all who
knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people
said to one another, ‘What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul
also among the prophets?’ A man of the place answered, ‘And who is
their father?’ Therefore it became a proverb, ‘Is Saul also among
the prophets?’ When his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went home. 
Saul’s uncle said to him and to the boy, ‘Where did you go?’ And
he replied, ‘To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to
be found, we went to Samuel.’ Saul’s uncle said, ‘Tell me what
Samuel said to you.’ Saul said to his uncle, ‘He told us that the
donkeys had been found.’ But about the matter of the kingship, of
which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
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Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to
Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the
righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to
be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law
brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may
rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to
the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of
Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I
have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the
God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into
existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he
believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’,
according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants
be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body,
which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years
old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No
distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew
strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced
that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith
‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was
reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours
also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our
trespasses and was raised for our justification. 
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Matthew 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the
people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority
are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus
said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the
answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human
origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From
heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?”
But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for
all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not
know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what
authority I am doing these things. 
‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and
said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I
will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went
to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but
he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They
said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the
tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God
ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you
did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes
believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds
and believe him.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 118

Psalm 118

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures for ever! 

Let Israel say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 
Let the house of Aaron say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 
Let those who fear the Lord say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
   the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
   What can mortals do to me? 
The Lord is on my side to help me;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in mortals. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in princes. 

All nations surrounded me;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me like bees;
   they blazed like a fire of thorns;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
   but the Lord helped me. 
The Lord is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. 

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; 
   the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
   the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’ 
I shall not die, but I shall live,
   and recount the deeds of the Lord. 
The Lord has punished me severely,
   but he did not give me over to death. 

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
   that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to the Lord. 

This is the gate of the Lord;
   the righteous shall enter through it. 

I thank you that you have answered me
   and have become my salvation. 
The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the chief cornerstone. 
This is the Lord’s doing;
   it is marvellous in our eyes. 
This is the day that the Lord has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
   O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
   We bless you from the house of the Lord. 
The Lord is God,
   and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
   up to the horns of the altar. 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
   you are my God, I will extol you. 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 145

Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever. 
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever. 
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable. 

One generation shall laud your works to another,
   and shall declare your mighty acts. 
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
   and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
   and I will declare your greatness. 
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
   and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made. 

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
   and all your faithful shall bless you. 
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
   and tell of your power, 
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
   and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. 
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds. 
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down. 
The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food in due season. 
You open your hand,
   satisfying the desire of every living thing. 
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings. 
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth. 
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them. 
The Lord watches over all who love him,
   but all the wicked he will destroy. 

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.
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