Wednesday 28 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">Ezra 6:1-22<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then King Darius made a decree, and they searched the archives where the documents were stored in Babylon. But it was in Ecbatana, the capital in the province of Media, that a scroll was found on which this was written: ‘A record. In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices are offered and burnt-offerings are brought;* its height shall be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, with three courses of hewn stones and one course of timber; let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. Moreover, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple in Jerusalem, each to its place; you shall put them in the house of God.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Now you, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and you, their associates, the envoys in the province Beyond the River, keep away; let the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests in Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his children. Furthermore, I decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of the house of the perpetrator, who then shall be impaled on it. The house shall be made a dunghill. May the God who has established his name there overthrow any king or people that shall put forth a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then, according to the word sent by King Darius, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what King Darius had ordered. So the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia; and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. They offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin-offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. Then they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles kept the passover. For both the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were clean. So they killed the passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow-priests, and for themselves. It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by all who had joined them and separated themselves from the pollutions of the nations of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread for seven days; for the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Revelation 5:1-10</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed* with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘You are worthy to take the scroll</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to open its seals,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>saints from* every tribe and language and people and nation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving* our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they will reign on earth.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 13:10-17</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets* of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“You will indeed listen, but never understand,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you will indeed look, but never perceive.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For this people’s heart has grown dull,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their ears are hard of hearing,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they have shut their eyes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that they might not look with their eyes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and listen with their ears,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and understand with their heart and turn—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I would heal them.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 119:49-72</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 119:49-72</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember your word to your servant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in which you have made me hope.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is my comfort in my distress,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that your promise gives me life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The arrogant utterly deride me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but I do not turn away from your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I think of your ordinances from of old,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I take comfort, O Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those who forsake your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your statutes have been my songs</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>wherever I make my home.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I remember your name in the night, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and keep your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This blessing has fallen to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I have kept your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my portion;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I promise to keep your words.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I implore your favour with all my heart;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be gracious to me according to your promise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I think of your ways,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I turn my feet to your decrees;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hurry and do not delay</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to keep your commandments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I do not forget your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At midnight I rise to praise you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of your righteous ordinances.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am a companion of all who fear you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of those who keep your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>teach me your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have dealt well with your servant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Lord, according to your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me good judgement and knowledge,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I believe in your commandments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before I was humbled I went astray,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but now I keep your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You are good and do good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>teach me your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The arrogant smear me with lies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their hearts are fat and gross,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but I delight in your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is good for me that I was humbled,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that I might learn your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The law of your mouth is better to me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than thousands of gold and silver pieces.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 49, 53</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 49</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear this, all you peoples;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give ear, all inhabitants of the world,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">both low and high,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>rich and poor together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My mouth shall speak wisdom;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will incline my ear to a proverb;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why should I fear in times of trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">those who trust in their wealth</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and boast of the abundance of their riches?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no price one can give to God for it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the ransom of life is costly,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and can never suffice,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that one should live on for ever</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and never see the grave.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we look at the wise, they die;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>fool and dolt perish together</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and leave their wealth to others.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their graves* are their homes for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their dwelling-places to all generations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though they named lands their own.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are like the animals that perish.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Such is the fate of the foolhardy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the end of those* who are pleased with their lot.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Death shall be their shepherd;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">straight to the grave they descend,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their form shall waste away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sheol shall be their home.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he will receive 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">Do not be afraid when some become rich,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when the wealth of their houses increases.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For when they die they will carry nothing away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their wealth will not go down after them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they* will go to the company of their ancestors,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who will never again see the light.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are like the animals that perish.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 53</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no one who does good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God looks down from heaven on humankind</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to see if there are any who are wise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who seek after God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no one who does good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>no, not one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who eat up my people as they eat bread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not call upon God?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There they shall be in great terror,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in terror such as has not been.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they will be put to shame,* for God has rejected them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When God restores the fortunes of his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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