Friday 22 September 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 22 September 2023
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Kings 1:2-17

Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in
Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent messengers, telling them, ‘Go,
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from
this injury.’ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite,
‘Get up, go to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say
to them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going
to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” Now therefore, thus
says the Lord, “You shall not leave the bed to which you have gone,
but you shall surely die.” ’ So Elijah went.

 The messengers returned to the king, who said to them, ‘Why have
you returned?’ They answered him, ‘There came a man to meet us,
who said to us, “Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him:
Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you
are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you
shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but shall surely
die.” ’ He said to them, ‘What sort of man was he who came to
meet you and told you these things?’ They answered him, ‘A hairy
man, with a leather belt around his waist.’ He said, ‘It is Elijah
the Tishbite.’

 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He
went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to
him, ‘O man of God, the king says, “Come down.” ’ But Elijah
answered the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come
down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.’ Then fire came
down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty.
He went up* and said to him, ‘O man of God, this is the king’s
order: Come down quickly!’ But Elijah answered them, ‘If I am a
man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your
fifty.’ Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him
and his fifty.

 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. So
the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and entreated him, ‘O man of God, please let my life,
and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your
sight. Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former
captains of fifty men with their fifties; but now let my life be
precious in your sight.’ Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah,
‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he set out and
went down with him to the king, and said to him, ‘Thus says the
Lord: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the
god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of
his word?—therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have
gone, but you shall surely die.’
 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
His brother* Jehoram succeeded him as king in the second year of King
Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.
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1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit
dwells in you?* If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy
that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this
age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’, 
and again,
‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
   that they are futile.’ 
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours,
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the
present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ,
and Christ belongs to God.
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Matthew 5:11-16
 
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter
all kinds of evil against you falsely* on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste,
how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything,
but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be
hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,
but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the
same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 69

Psalm 69

Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck. 
I sink in deep mire,
   where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me. 
I am weary with my crying;
   my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
   with waiting for my God. 

More in number than the hairs of my head
   are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
   my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
   must I now restore? 
O God, you know my folly;
   the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 

Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
   O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonoured because of me,
   O God of Israel. 
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
   that shame has covered my face. 
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
   an alien to my mother’s children. 

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 
When I humbled my soul with fasting,*
   they insulted me for doing so. 
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
   I became a byword to them. 
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
   and the drunkards make songs about me. 

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
   At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help rescue me
   from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
   and from the deep waters. 
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me. 

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
   according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 
Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress—make haste to answer me. 
Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies. 

You know the insults I receive,
   and my shame and dishonour;
   my foes are all known to you. 
Insults have broken my heart,
   so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
   and for comforters, but I found none. 
They gave me poison for food,
   and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

Let their table be a trap for them,
   a snare for their allies. 
Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and make their loins tremble continually. 
Pour out your indignation upon them,
   and let your burning anger overtake them. 
May their camp be a desolation;
   let no one live in their tents. 
For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
   and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.* 
Add guilt to their guilt;
   may they have no acquittal from you. 
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
   let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 
But I am lowly and in pain;
   let your salvation, O God, protect me. 

I will praise the name of God with a song;
   I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 
This will please the Lord more than an ox
   or a bull with horns and hoofs. 
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
   you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 
For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 

Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and everything that moves in them. 
For God will save Zion
   and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live* there and possess it; 
   the children of his servants shall inherit it,
   and those who love his name shall live in it.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 73

Psalm 73

Truly God is good to the upright,*
   to those who are pure in heart. 
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
   my steps had nearly slipped. 
For I was envious of the arrogant;
   I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

For they have no pain;
   their bodies are sound and sleek. 
They are not in trouble as others are;
   they are not plagued like other people. 
Therefore pride is their necklace;
   violence covers them like a garment. 
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
   their hearts overflow with follies. 
They scoff and speak with malice;
   loftily they threaten oppression. 
They set their mouths against heaven,
   and their tongues range over the earth. 

Therefore the people turn and praise them,*
   and find no fault in them.* 
And they say, ‘How can God know?
   Is there knowledge in the Most High?’ 
Such are the wicked;
   always at ease, they increase in riches. 
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
   and washed my hands in innocence. 
For all day long I have been plagued,
   and am punished every morning. 

If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,
   I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. 
But when I thought how to understand this,
   it seemed to me a wearisome task, 
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
   then I perceived their end. 
Truly you set them in slippery places;
   you make them fall to ruin. 
How they are destroyed in a moment,
   swept away utterly by terrors! 
They are* like a dream when one awakes;
   on awaking you despise their phantoms. 

When my soul was embittered,
   when I was pricked in heart, 
I was stupid and ignorant;
   I was like a brute beast towards you. 
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
   you hold my right hand. 
You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterwards you will receive me with honour.* 
Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. 
My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength* of my heart and my portion for ever. 

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
   you put an end to those who are false to you. 
But for me it is good to be near God;
   I have made the Lord God my refuge,
   to tell of all your works.
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