Friday 9 October 2009<!--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">2 Kings 23:36-24:17<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as all his ancestors had done.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. The Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to pardon. Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father had done.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the Lord had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained, except the poorest people of the land. He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valour, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Corinthians 12:12-26</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 9:27-34</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this.’ But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 140, 142</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 140</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>protect me from those who are violent,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who plan evil things in their minds</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and stir up wars continually.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and under their lips is the venom of vipers.</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">Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>protect me from the violent</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who have planned my downfall.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and with cords they have spread a net;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>along the road they have set snares for me.</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">I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have covered my head in the day of battle.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not further their evil plot.*</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">Those who surround me lift up their heads;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let burning coals fall on them!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let evil speedily hunt down the violent!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and executes justice for the poor.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the upright shall live in your presence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 142</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With my voice I cry to the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I pour out my complaint before him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I tell my trouble before him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When my spirit is faint,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you know my way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the path where I walk</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they have hidden a trap for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Look on my right hand and see—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no one who takes notice of me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">no refuge remains to me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>no one cares for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cry to you, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I say, ‘You are my refuge,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my portion in the land of the living.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Give heed to my cry,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I am brought very low.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Save me from my persecutors,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for they are too strong for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bring me out of prison,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that I may give thanks to your name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The righteous will surround me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you will deal bountifully with me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 141, 143</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 141</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give ear to my voice when I call to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>keep watch over the door of my lips.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not turn my heart to any evil,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to busy myself with wicked deeds</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in company with those who work iniquity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let me eat of their delicacies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the righteous strike me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the faithful correct me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for my prayer is continually* against their wicked deeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But my eyes are turned towards you, O God, my Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenceless.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and from the snares of evildoers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the wicked fall into their own nets,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>while I alone escape.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 143</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear my prayer, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>answer me in your righteousness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not enter into judgement with your servant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for no one living is righteous before you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the enemy has pursued me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>crushing my life to the ground,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>making me sit in darkness like those long dead.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore my spirit faints within me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my heart within me is appalled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I remember the days of old,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think about all your deeds,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I meditate on the works of your hands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I stretch out my hands to you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.</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">Answer me quickly, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my spirit fails.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not hide your face from me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for in you I put my trust.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me the way I should go,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for to you I lift up my soul.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have fled to you for refuge.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me to do your will,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you are my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your good spirit lead me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on a level path.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and destroy all my adversaries,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I am your servant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment-->