Saturday 23 November 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 23 November 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Malachi 3:13-4:6

You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say,
‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to
serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about
as mourners before the Lord of hosts? Now we count the arrogant happy;
evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they
escape.’
 Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord
took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before
him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name. They shall
be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when
I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve
them. Then once more you shall see the difference between the
righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does
not serve him.
*See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant
and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them
up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root
nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness
shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like
calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they
will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act,
says the Lord of hosts.

 Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and
ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible
day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their
children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will
not come and strike the land with a curse.*
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James 5:13-20

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They
should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call
for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing
them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save
the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has
committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one
another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The
prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human
being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for
three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he
prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its
harvest.

 My brothers and sisters,* if anyone among you wanders from the truth
and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings
back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s* soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.
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Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they
were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up
to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank
you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or
even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of
all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not
even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God,
be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his
home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves
will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-13

Psalm 107:33-43

He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground, 
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 
He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water. 
And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in; 
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield. 
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease. 

When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, 
he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks. 
The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth. 
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 108:1-13

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,
   and I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
   and let your glory be over all the earth. 
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
   so that those whom you love may be rescued. 

God has promised in his sanctuary:*
   ‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
   and portion out the Vale of Succoth. 
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
   Ephraim is my helmet;
   Judah is my sceptre. 
Moab is my wash-basin;
   on Edom I hurl my shoe;
   over Philistia I shout in triumph.’ 

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
   Who will lead me to Edom? 
Have you not rejected us, O God?
   You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 
O grant us help against the foe,
   for human help is worthless. 
With God we shall do valiantly;
   it is he who will tread down our foes.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 33

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright. 
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 
Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 

For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness. 
He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses. 

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 
For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm. 

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 
The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 

The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind. 
>From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth— 
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds. 
A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save. 

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine. 

Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield. 
Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.
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