Tuesday 8 June 2010<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">Ecclesiastes 8:14-9:10<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how one’s eyes see sleep neither day nor night, then I saw all the work of God, that no one can find out what is happening under the sun. However much they may toil in seeking, they will not find it out; even though those who are wise claim to know, they cannot find it out.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them is vanity,* since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,* to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners; those who swear are like those who shun an oath. This is an evil in all that happens under the sun, that the same fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Galatians 4:21-31</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia* and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than the children of the one who is married.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now you,* my friends,* are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the scripture say? ‘Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.’ So then, friends,* we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 15:29-39</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’ Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 61, 62</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 61</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear my cry, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>listen to my prayer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the end of the earth I call to you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when my heart is faint.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lead me to the rock</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that is higher than I;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you are my refuge,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a strong tower against the enemy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me abide in your tent for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>find refuge under the shelter of your wings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you, O God, have heard my vows;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prolong the life of the king;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>may his years endure to all generations!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May he be enthroned for ever before God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I will always sing praises to your name,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as I pay my vows day after day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 62</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For God alone my soul waits in silence;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from him comes my salvation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He alone is my rock and my salvation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my fortress; I shall never be shaken.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How long will you assail a person,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>will you batter your victim, all of you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They take pleasure in falsehood;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they bless with their mouths,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but inwardly they curse.</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">For God alone my soul waits in silence,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for my hope is from him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He alone is my rock and my salvation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my fortress; I shall not be shaken.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On God rests my deliverance and my honour;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trust in him at all times, O people;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>pour out your heart before him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God is a refuge for us.</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 of low estate are but a breath,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those of high estate are a delusion;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in the balances they go up;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are together lighter than a breath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Put no confidence in extortion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and set no vain hopes on robbery;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once God has spoken;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>twice have I heard this:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that power belongs to God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you repay to all</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>according to their work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 68</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 68</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let those who hate him flee before him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as wax melts before the fire,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the wicked perish before God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But let the righteous be joyful;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let them exult before God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let them be jubilant with joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing to God, sing praises to his name;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds*—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">his name is the Lord—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be exultant before him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Father of orphans and protector of widows</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is God in his holy habitation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God gives the desolate a home to live in;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the rebellious live in a parched land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O God, when you went out before your people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when you marched through the wilderness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the presence of God, the God of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you restored your heritage when it languished;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">your flock found a dwelling in it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord gives the command;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>great is the company of those* who bore the tidings:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The women at home divide the spoil,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though they stay among the sheepfolds—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the wings of a dove covered with silver,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>its pinions with green gold.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the Almighty* scattered kings there,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>snow fell on Zalmon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the mount that God desired for his abode,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>where the Lord will reside for ever?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>thousands upon thousands,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You ascended the high mount,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>leading captives in your train</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and receiving gifts from people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who daily bears us up;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God is our salvation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our God is a God of salvation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord said,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘I will bring them back from Bashan,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that you may bathe* your feet in blood,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your solemn processions are seen,* O God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the singers in front, the musicians last,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>between them girls playing tambourines:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Bless God in the great congregation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the princes of Judah in a body,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summon your might, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because of your temple at Jerusalem</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>kings bear gifts to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trample* under foot those who lust after tribute;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>scatter the peoples who delight in war.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let bronze be brought from Egypt;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let Ethiopia* hasten to stretch out its hands to God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sing praises to the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ascribe power to God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>whose majesty is over Israel;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and whose power is in the skies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Awesome is God in his* sanctuary,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the God of Israel;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he gives power and strength to his people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be God!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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