Wednesday 12 July 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 12 July 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have
rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and
set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have
provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can
I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said,
‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the
Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you
shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’
Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders
of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come
peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the
Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he
sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s
anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do
not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I
have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look
on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then
Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said,
‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah
pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to
Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to
Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet
the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to
Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes
here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had
beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint
him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and
anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set
out and went to Ramah.
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Acts 10:1-16

In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the
Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God
with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and
prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he
had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and
saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ He stared at him in terror and said,
‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms
have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa for a
certain Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner,
whose house is by the seaside.’ When the angel who spoke to him had
left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks
of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent
them to Joppa. 
About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching
the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and
wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into
a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet
coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it
were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the
air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything
that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second
time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This
happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
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Luke 24:12-35

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw
the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had
happened. 
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other
about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and
discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes
were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you
discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still,
looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him,
‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things
that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What
things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned
to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to
redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day
since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group
astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they
did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had
indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of
those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women
had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh,
how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should
suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning
with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things
about himself in all the scriptures. 
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked
ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying,
‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now
nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the
table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to
them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he
vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our
hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while
he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and
returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions
gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and
he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the
road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the
bread.
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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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