Saturday 7 December 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 7 December 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 4:2-6

On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the
survivors of Israel. Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem
will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in
Jerusalem, once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a
spirit of judgement and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will
create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of
assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by
night. Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy. It will
serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a
shelter from the storm and rain.
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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,* about
those who have died,* so that you may not grieve as others do who have
no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so,
through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.* For this
we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who
are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those
who have died.* For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the
archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend
from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are
alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with
them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for
ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with
beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these
things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be
left upon another; all will be thrown down.’
 They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the
sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that
you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am
he!”* and, “The time is near!”* Do not go after them.

 ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for
these things must take place first, but the end will not follow
immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes,
and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful
portents and great signs from heaven.

 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute
you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will
be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will
give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to
prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words* and a
wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or
contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by
relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You
will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head
will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 20, 21:1-14

Psalm 20

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
   The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
   and give you support from Zion. 
May he remember all your offerings,
   and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.
          Selah 

May he grant you your heart’s desire,
   and fulfil all your plans. 
May we shout for joy over your victory,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions. 

Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
   he will answer him from his holy heaven
   with mighty victories by his right hand. 
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
   but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. 
They will collapse and fall,
   but we shall rise and stand upright. 

Give victory to the king, O Lord;
   answer us when we call.*

Psalm 21:1-14

In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
   and in your help how greatly he exults! 
You have given him his heart’s desire,
   and have not withheld the request of his lips.
          Selah 
For you meet him with rich blessings;
   you set a crown of fine gold on his head. 
He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
   length of days for ever and ever. 
His glory is great through your help;
   splendour and majesty you bestow on him. 
You bestow on him blessings for ever;
   you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 
For the king trusts in the Lord,
   and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be
moved.

Your hand will find out all your enemies;
   your right hand will find out those who hate you. 
You will make them like a fiery furnace
   when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
   and fire will consume them. 
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
   and their children from among humankind. 
If they plan evil against you,
   if they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 
For you will put them to flight;
   you will aim at their faces with your bows. 

Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
   We will sing and praise your power.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 110:1-7, 116, 117

Psalm 110:1-7

The Lord says to my lord,
   ‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 

The Lord sends out from Zion
   your mighty sceptre.
   Rule in the midst of your foes. 
Your people will offer themselves willingly
   on the day you lead your forces
   on the holy mountains.*
>From the womb of the morning,
   like dew, your youth* will come to you. 
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
   ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of
Melchizedek.’* 

The Lord is at your right hand;
   he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 
He will execute judgement among the nations,
   filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
   over the wide earth. 
He will drink from the stream by the path;
   therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications. 
Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 
The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish. 
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’ 

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful. 
The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me. 
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 

For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling. 
I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’; 
I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’ 

What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me? 
I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord, 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people. 
Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones. 
O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds. 
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people, 
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples! 
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!
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