Tuesday 1 September 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">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Kings 8:65-9:9<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">So Solomon held the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a great assembly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt—before the Lord our God, for seven days.* On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness that the Lord had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised your father David, saying, “There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.”</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples. This house will become a heap of ruins;* everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?” Then they will say, “Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshipping them and serving them; therefore the Lord has brought this disaster upon them.” ’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">James 2:14-26</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Mark 14:66-72</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt.* Then the cock crowed.* And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 26, 28</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 26</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Vindicate me, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I have walked in my integrity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prove me, O Lord, and try me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>test my heart and mind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your steadfast love is before my eyes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I walk in faithfulness to you.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I do not sit with the worthless,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor do I consort with hypocrites;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hate the company of evildoers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and will not sit with the wicked.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I wash my hands in innocence,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and go around your altar, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and telling all your wondrous deeds.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the place where your glory abides.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not sweep me away with sinners,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor my life with the bloodthirsty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">those in whose hands are evil devices,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and whose right hands are full of bribes.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But as for me, I walk in my integrity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>redeem me, and be gracious to me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My foot stands on level ground;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 28</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">To you, O Lord, I call;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my rock, do not refuse to hear me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for if you are silent to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear the voice of my supplication,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as I cry to you for help,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as I lift up my hands</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>towards your most holy sanctuary.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Do not drag me away with the wicked,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with those who are workers of evil,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who speak peace with their neighbours,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>while mischief is in their hearts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Repay them according to their work,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and according to the evil of their deeds;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">repay them according to the work of their hands;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>render them their due reward.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or the work of his hands,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will break them down and build them up no more.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my strength and my shield;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in him my heart trusts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so I am helped, and my heart exults,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and with my song I give thanks to him.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is the strength of his people;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he is the saving refuge of his anointed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O save your people, and bless your heritage;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 36, 39</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 36</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Transgression speaks to the wicked</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>deep in their hearts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">there is no fear of God</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>before their eyes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For they flatter themselves in their own eyes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they have ceased to act wisely and do good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They plot mischief while on their beds;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are set on a way that is not good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they do not reject evil.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your faithfulness to the clouds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your judgements are like the great deep;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">How precious is your steadfast love, O God!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They feast on the abundance of your house,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you give them drink from the river of your delights.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For with you is the fountain of life;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in your light we see light.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and your salvation to the upright of heart!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or the hand of the wicked drive me away.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There the evildoers lie prostrate;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are thrust down, unable to rise.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 39</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I said, ‘I will guard my ways</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that I may not sin with my tongue;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will keep a muzzle on my mouth</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as long as the wicked are in my presence.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was silent and still;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I held my peace to no avail;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my distress grew worse,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my heart became hot within me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I mused, the fire burned;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>then I spoke with my tongue:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Lord, let me know my end,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and what is the measure of my days;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let me know how fleeting my life is.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have made my days a few handbreadths,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they heap up, and do not know who will gather.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My hope is in you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deliver me from all my transgressions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not make me the scorn of the fool.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am silent; I do not open my mouth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for it is you who have done it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remove your stroke from me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am worn down by the blows* of your hand.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘You chastise mortals</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in punishment for sin,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">consuming like a moth what is dear to them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>surely everyone is a mere breath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and give ear to my cry;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not hold your peace at my tears.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I am your passing guest,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>an alien, like all my forebears.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>before I depart and am no more.’</p>
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