Wednesday 10 July 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 10 July 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Deuteronomy 1:1-18

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the
Jordan—in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran
and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. (By the way of Mount Seir
it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb.) In the
fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to
the Israelites just as the Lord had commanded him to speak to them.
This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned
in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and* in
Edrei. Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to
expound this law as follows:

 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed
long enough at this mountain. Resume your journey, and go into the
hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighbouring
regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and
the sea coast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as
the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before
you; go in and take possession of the land that I* swore to your
ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to
their descendants after them.’
 At that time I said to you, ‘I am unable by myself to bear you.
The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as
numerous as the stars of heaven. May the Lord, the God of your
ancestors, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, as he has
promised you! But how can I bear the heavy burden of your disputes all
by myself? Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise,
discerning, and reputable to be your leaders.’ You answered me,
‘The plan you have proposed is a good one.’ So I took the leaders
of your tribes, wise and reputable individuals, and installed them as
leaders over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds,
commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officials, throughout
your tribes. I charged your judges at that time: ‘Give the members
of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person
and another, whether citizen or resident alien. You must not be
partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike; you shall
not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgement is God’s. Any case
that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ So I
charged you at that time with all the things that you should do.
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Romans 9:1-18

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience
confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing
anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and
cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people,* my kindred
according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the
adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from
them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah,* who is over all, God
blessed for ever.* Amen.

 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all
Israelites truly belong to Israel, and not all of Abraham’s children
are his true descendants; but ‘It is through Isaac that descendants
shall be named after you.’ This means that it is not the children of
the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise
are counted as descendants. For this is what the promise said,
‘About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.’ Nor is
that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived
children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. Even before they had been
born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of
election might continue, not by works but by his call) she was told,
‘The elder shall serve the younger.’ As it is written,
‘I have loved Jacob,
   but I have hated Esau.’

 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no
means! For he says to Moses,
‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
   and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ 
So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows
mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘I have raised you up for
the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be
proclaimed in all the earth.’ So then he has mercy on whomsoever he
chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomsoever he chooses.
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Matthew 23:27-39

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside
they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So
you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are
full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the
tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and
you say, “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not
have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.”
Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those
who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your
ancestors. You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being
sentenced to hell?* Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes,
some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your
synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all
the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to
the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the
sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon
this generation.
 ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you
were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate.* For I
tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is the
one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’
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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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