Tuesday 3 December 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 3 December 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 1:21-31

How the faithful city
   has become a whore!
   She that was full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her—
   but now murderers! 
Your silver has become dross,
   your wine is mixed with water. 
Your princes are rebels
   and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
   and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan,
   and the widow’s cause does not come before them. 

Therefore says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of
Israel:
Ah, I will pour out my wrath on my enemies,
   and avenge myself on my foes! 
I will turn my hand against you;
   I will smelt away your dross as with lye
   and remove all your alloy. 
And I will restore your judges as at the first,
   and your counsellors as at the beginning.
Afterwards you shall be called the city of righteousness,
   the faithful city. 

Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
   and those in her who repent, by righteousness. 
But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,
   and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. 
For you shall be ashamed of the oaks
   in which you delighted;
and you shall blush for the gardens
   that you have chosen. 
For you shall be like an oak
   whose leaf withers,
   and like a garden without water. 
The strong shall become like tinder,
   and their work* like a spark;
they and their work shall burn together,
   with no one to quench them.
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1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,* that our coming to you was
not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully
maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to
declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our
appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but
just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message
of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please
God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we
never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did
we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though
we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle*
among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So
deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not
only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have
become very dear to us.

 You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters;* we worked
night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we
proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also,
how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you
believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father
with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you
should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom
and glory.
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Luke 20:9-18

He began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard,
and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time.
When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that
they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the
tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another
slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away
empty-handed. And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and
threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I
will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” But when
the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said,
“This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be
ours.” So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What
then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and
destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ When they
heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’ But he looked at them and
said, ‘What then does this text mean:
“The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone”?* 
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will
crush anyone on whom it falls.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 5, 6

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
   give heed to my sighing. 
Listen to the sound of my cry,
   my King and my God,
   for to you I pray. 
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. 

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
   evil will not sojourn with you. 
The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
   you hate all evildoers. 
You destroy those who speak lies;
   the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. 

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
   will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
   in awe of you. 
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies;
   make your way straight before me. 

For there is no truth in their mouths;
   their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
   they flatter with their tongues. 
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
   let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
   for they have rebelled against you. 

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
   let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
   so that those who love your name may exult in you. 
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
   you cover them with favour as with a shield.

Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
   or discipline me in your wrath. 
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
   O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 
My soul also is struck with terror,
   while you, O Lord—how long? 

Turn, O Lord, save my life;
   deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
   in Sheol who can give you praise? 

I am weary with my moaning;
   every night I flood my bed with tears;
   I drench my couch with my weeping. 
My eyes waste away because of grief;
   they grow weak because of all my foes. 

Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
   for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 
The Lord has heard my supplication;
   the Lord accepts my prayer. 
All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
   they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 10, 11

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
   let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
   those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord. 
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek
it out’;
   all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’ 

Their ways prosper at all times;
   your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
   as for their foes, they scoff at them. 
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
   throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’ 

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
   under their tongues are mischief and iniquity. 
They sit in ambush in the villages;
   in hiding-places they murder the innocent. 

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 
   they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
   they seize the poor and drag them off in their net. 

They stoop, they crouch,
   and the helpless fall by their might. 
They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
   he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’ 

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
   do not forget the oppressed. 
Why do the wicked renounce God,
   and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’? 

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
   that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
   you have been the helper of the orphan. 

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
   seek out their wickedness until you find none. 
The Lord is king for ever and ever;
   the nations shall perish from his land. 

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
   you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear 
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
   so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
   ‘Flee like a bird to the mountains;* 
for look, the wicked bend the bow,
   they have fitted their arrow to the string,
   to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. 
If the foundations are destroyed,
   what can the righteous do?’ 

The Lord is in his holy temple;
   the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
   His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. 
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
   and his soul hates the lover of violence. 
On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulphur;
   a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
   the upright shall behold his face.
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