Tuesday 28 October 2008<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ecclesiasticus 24:1-12</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wisdom praises herself,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and covered the earth like a mist.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I dwelt in the highest heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alone I compassed the vault of heaven</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and traversed the depths of the abyss.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and over every people and nation I have held sway.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Among all these I sought a resting-place;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in whose territory should I abide?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my Creator chose the place for my tent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He said, “Make your dwelling in Jacob,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in Israel receive your inheritance.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the holy tent I ministered before him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and so I was established in Zion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting-place,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in Jerusalem was my domain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I took root in an honoured people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Revelation 11:14-19</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and of his Messiah,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and he will reign for ever and ever.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God, singing,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who are and who were,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you have taken your great power</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and begun to reign.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The nations raged,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but your wrath has come,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the time for judging the dead,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for rewarding your servants,* the prophets</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and saints and all who fear your name,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>both small and great,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 11:27-36</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar,* but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 45</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 45</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My heart overflows with a goodly theme;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I address my verses to the king;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You are the most handsome of men;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>grace is poured upon your lips;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore God has blessed you for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in your glory and majesty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In your majesty ride on victoriously</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the cause of truth and to defend* the right;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let your right hand teach you dread deeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your arrows are sharp</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the heart of the king’s enemies;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the peoples fall under you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your throne, O God,* endures for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your royal sceptre is a sceptre of equity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you love righteousness and hate wickedness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore God, your God, has anointed you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>daughters of kings are among your ladies of honour;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>forget your people and your father’s house,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the king will desire your beauty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since he is your lord, bow to him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the people* of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in many-coloured robes she is led to the king;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With joy and gladness they are led along</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as they enter the palace of the king.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the place of ancestors you, O king,* shall have sons;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you will make them princes in all the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 47, 48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 47</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Clap your hands, all you peoples;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shout to God with loud songs of joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a great king over all the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He subdued peoples under us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and nations under our feet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He chose our heritage for us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the pride of Jacob whom he loves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God has gone up with a shout,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing praises to God, sing praises;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sing praises to our King, sing praises.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For God is the king of all the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sing praises with a psalm.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God is king over the nations;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God sits on his holy throne.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The princes of the peoples gather</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as the people of the God of Abraham.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the shields of the earth belong to God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he is highly exalted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the city of our God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is the joy of all the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mount Zion, in the far north,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the city of the great King.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Within its citadels God</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>has shown himself a sure defence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the kings assembled,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they came on together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they were in panic, they took to flight;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">trembling took hold of them there,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>pains as of a woman in labour,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as when an east wind shatters</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the ships of Tarshish.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we have heard, so have we seen</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the city of the Lord of hosts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in the city of our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which God establishes for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We ponder your steadfast love, O God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the midst of your temple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your name, O God, like your praise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>reaches to the ends of the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your right hand is filled with victory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Let Mount Zion be glad,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">let the towns* of Judah rejoice</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of your judgements.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Walk about Zion, go all around it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>count its towers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">consider well its ramparts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>go through its citadels,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that you may tell the next generation</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that this is God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">our God for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He will be our guide for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment-->