Monday 18 September 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 18 September 2023
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 21:1-16

Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. And
Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it
for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a
better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you
its value in money.’ But Naboth said to Ahab, ‘The Lord forbid
that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.’ Ahab went home
resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to
him; for he had said, ‘I will not give you my ancestral
inheritance.’ He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and
would not eat.

 His wife Jezebel came to him and said, ‘Why are you so depressed
that you will not eat?’ He said to her, ‘Because I spoke to Naboth
the Jezreelite and said to him, “Give me your vineyard for money; or
else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it”; but
he answered, “I will not give you my vineyard.” ’ His wife
Jezebel said to him, ‘Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some
food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite.’

 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal;
she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with
Naboth in his city. She wrote in the letters, ‘Proclaim a fast, and
seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; seat two scoundrels opposite
him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, “You have
cursed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him to
death.’ The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in
his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written
in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and
seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. The two scoundrels came in
and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against
Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, ‘Naboth cursed God
and the king.’ So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to
death. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, ‘Naboth has been stoned;
he is dead.’

 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead,
Jezebel said to Ahab, ‘Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is
not alive, but dead.’ As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,
Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to
take possession of it.
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1 Corinthians 1:1-19

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and
our brother Sosthenes,

 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified
in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in
every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their
Lord* and ours:

 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 

 I give thanks to my* God always for you because of the grace of God
that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have
been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as
the testimony of* Christ has been strengthened among you— so that
you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the
end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,* by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there
should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the
same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by
Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and
sisters.* What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to
Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or
‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified
for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God* that I
baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say
that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household
of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone
else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the
gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ
might not be emptied of its power.
 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For
it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
   and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
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Matthew 4:1-11
 
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and
afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If
you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of
bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written,
“One does not live by bread alone,
   but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the
pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
   and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’ 
Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your
God to the test.” ’

 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him,
‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
   and serve only him.” ’ 
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 56, 57, 58

Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
   all day long foes oppress me; 
my enemies trample on me all day long,
   for many fight against me.
O Most High, when I am afraid,
   I put my trust in you. 
In God, whose word I praise,
   in God I trust; I am not afraid;
   what can flesh do to me? 

All day long they seek to injure my cause;
   all their thoughts are against me for evil. 
They stir up strife, they lurk,
   they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life, 
   so repay* them for their crime;
   in wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 

You have kept count of my tossings;
   put my tears in your bottle.
   Are they not in your record? 
Then my enemies will retreat
   on the day when I call.
   This I know, that* God is for me. 
In God, whose word I praise,
   in the Lord, whose word I praise, 
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
   What can a mere mortal do to me? 

My vows to you I must perform, O God;
   I will render thank-offerings to you. 
For you have delivered my soul from death,
   and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
   in the light of life.

Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
   for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
   until the destroying storms pass by. 
I cry to God Most High,
   to God who fulfils his purpose for me. 
He will send from heaven and save me,
   he will put to shame those who trample on me.
          Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 

I lie down among lions
   that greedily devour* human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
   their tongues sharp swords. 

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth. 

They set a net for my steps;
   my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
   but they have fallen into it themselves.
          Selah 
My heart is steadfast, O God,
   my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody. 
   Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn. 
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
   I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
   your faithfulness extends to the clouds. 

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 58

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?*
   Do you judge people fairly? 
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
   your hands deal out violence on earth. 

The wicked go astray from the womb;
   they err from their birth, speaking lies. 
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
   like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
   or of the cunning enchanter. 

O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
   tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
   like grass let them be trodden down* and wither. 
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
   like the untimely birth that never sees the sun. 
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
   whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! 

The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
   they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. 
People will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
   surely there is a God who judges on earth.’
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 64, 65

Psalm 64

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
   preserve my life from the dread enemy. 
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
   from the scheming of evildoers, 
who whet their tongues like swords,
   who aim bitter words like arrows, 
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
   they shoot suddenly and without fear. 
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
   they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, ‘Who can see us?* 
   Who can search out our crimes?*
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.’
   For the human heart and mind are deep. 

But God will shoot his arrow at them;
   they will be wounded suddenly. 
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;*
   all who see them will shake with horror. 
Then everyone will fear;
   they will tell what God has brought about,
   and ponder what he has done. 

Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
   and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.

Psalm 65

Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed, 
   O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come. 
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
   you forgive our transgressions. 
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
   to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
   your holy temple. 

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas. 
By your* strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might. 
You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples. 
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 

You visit the earth and water it,
   you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
   you provide the people with grain,
   for so you have prepared it. 
You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth. 
You crown the year with your bounty;
   your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
   the hills gird themselves with joy, 
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
   the valleys deck themselves with grain,
   they shout and sing together for joy.
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