Friday 26 June 2009<!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">1 Samuel 9:1-14<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, ‘Take one of the boys with you; go and look for the donkeys.’ He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the boy who was with him, ‘Let us turn back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us.’ But he said to him, ‘There is a man of God in this town; he is a man held in honour. Whatever he says always comes true. Let us go there now; perhaps he will tell us about the journey on which we have set out.’ Then Saul replied to the boy, ‘But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we?’ The boy answered Saul again, ‘Here, I have with me a quarter-shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.’ (Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) Saul said to the boy, ‘Good; come, let us go.’ So they went to the town where the man of God was.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As they went up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’ They answered, ‘Yes, there he is just ahead of you. Hurry; he has come just now to the town, because the people have a sacrifice today at the shrine. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the shrine to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterwards those eat who are invited. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.’ So they went up to the town. As they were entering the town, they saw Samuel coming out towards them on his way up to the shrine.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 7:17-29</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house; and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites.* When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. The next day he came to some of them as they were quarrelling and tried to reconcile them, saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?” But the man who was wronging his neighbour pushed Moses* aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 22:31-38</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded* to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’ Jesus* said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 102</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 102</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hear my prayer, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let my cry come to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not hide your face from me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the day of my distress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Incline your ear to me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>answer me speedily on the day when I call.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For my days pass away like smoke,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my bones burn like a furnace.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My heart is stricken and withered like grass;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am too wasted to eat my bread.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because of my loud groaning</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my bones cling to my skin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am like an owl of the wilderness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like a little owl of the waste places.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I lie awake;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All day long my enemies taunt me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those who deride me use my name for a curse.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I eat ashes like bread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and mingle tears with my drink,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">because of your indignation and anger;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My days are like an evening shadow;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I wither away like grass.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your name endures to all generations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for it is time to favour it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the appointed time has come.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your servants hold its stones dear,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have pity on its dust.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The nations will fear the name of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all the kings of the earth your glory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the Lord will build up Zion;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will appear in his glory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will regard the prayer of the destitute,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and will not despise their prayer.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Let this be recorded for a generation to come,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that he looked down from his holy height,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to hear the groans of the prisoners,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to set free those who were doomed to die;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his praise in Jerusalem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when peoples gather together,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He has broken my strength in mid-course;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has shortened my days.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘O my God,’ I say, ‘do not take me away</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the mid-point of my life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you whose years endure</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>throughout all generations.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the heavens are the work of your hands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will perish, but you endure;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they will all wear out like a garment.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You change them like clothing, and they pass away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but you are the same, and your years have no end.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The children of your servants shall live secure;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their offspring shall be established in your presence.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 107:1-32</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 107:1-32</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those he redeemed from trouble</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and gathered in from the lands,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from the east and from the west,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from the north and from the south.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Some wandered in desert wastes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>finding no way to an inhabited town;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">hungry and thirsty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their soul fainted within them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he delivered them from their distress;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he led them by a straight way,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until they reached an inhabited town.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his wonderful works to humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he satisfies the thirsty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the hungry he fills with good things.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some sat in darkness and in gloom,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>prisoners in misery and in irons,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for they had rebelled against the words of God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and spurned the counsel of the Most High.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they fell down, with no one to help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he saved them from their distress;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he brought them out of darkness and gloom,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and broke their bonds asunder.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his wonderful works to humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he shatters the doors of bronze,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and cuts in two the bars of iron.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some were sick* through their sinful ways,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and because of their iniquities endured affliction;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they loathed any kind of food,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they drew near to the gates of death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he saved them from their distress;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he sent out his word and healed them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and delivered them from destruction.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his wonderful works to humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Some went down to the sea in ships,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>doing business on the mighty waters;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they saw the deeds of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his wondrous works in the deep.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which lifted up the waves of the sea.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their courage melted away in their calamity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they reeled and staggered like drunkards,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and were at their wits’ end.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he brought them out from their distress;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he made the storm be still,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the waves of the sea were hushed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they were glad because they had quiet,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he brought them to their desired haven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his wonderful works to humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and praise him in the assembly of the elders.</p>
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