Saturday 31 July 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">Judges 5:19-31<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘The kings came, they fought;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>then fought the kings of Canaan,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they got no spoils of silver.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stars fought from heaven,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from their courses they fought against Sisera.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The torrent Kishon swept them away,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>March on, my soul, with might!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>curse bitterly its inhabitants,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">because they did not come to the help of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to the help of the Lord against the mighty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Most blessed of women be Jael,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the wife of Heber the Kenite,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of tent-dwelling women most blessed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He asked water and she gave him milk,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>she brought him curds in a lordly bowl.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She put her hand to the tent-peg</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">she struck Sisera a blow,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>she crushed his head,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>she shattered and pierced his temple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He sank, he fell,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he lay still at her feet;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at her feet he sank, he fell;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>where he sank, there he fell dead.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Out of the window she peered,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the mother of Sisera gazed* through the lattice:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Why is his chariot so long in coming?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her wisest ladies make answer,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>indeed, she answers the question herself:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A girl or two for every man;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘So perish all your enemies, O Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And the land had rest for forty years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 2:22-36</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘You that are Israelites,* listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth,* a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death,* because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I saw the Lord always before me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>moreover, my flesh will live in hope.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or let your Holy One experience corruption.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have made known to me the ways of life;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Fellow Israelites,* I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David* spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,* saying,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“He was not abandoned to Hades,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor did his flesh experience corruption.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at* the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“The Lord said to my Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Sit at my right hand,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah,* this Jesus whom you crucified.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 28:11-20</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests* had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 75, 76</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 75</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We give thanks to you, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we give thanks; your name is near.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People tell of your wondrous deeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the set time that I appoint</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will judge with equity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it is I who keep its pillars steady.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast’,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">do not lift up your horn on high,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or speak with insolent neck.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For not from the east or from the west</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but it is God who executes judgement,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>putting down one and lifting up another.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with foaming wine, well mixed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will pour a draught from it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all the wicked of the earth</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shall drain it down to the dregs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I will rejoice* for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 76</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Judah God is known,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his name is great in Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His abode has been established in Salem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his dwelling-place in Zion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There he broke the flashing arrows,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.</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">Glorious are you, more majestic</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than the everlasting mountains.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they sank into sleep;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">none of the troops</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>was able to lift a hand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>both rider and horse lay stunned.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you indeed are awesome!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who can stand before you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when once your anger is roused?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the heavens you uttered judgement;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the earth feared and was still</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when God rose up to establish judgement,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to save all the oppressed of the earth.</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">Human wrath serves only to praise you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when you bind the last bit of your* wrath around you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all who are around him bring gifts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to the one who is awesome,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who cuts off the spirit of princes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 23, 27</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 23</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He makes me lie down in green pastures;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he leads me beside still waters;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he restores my soul.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He leads me in right paths*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his name’s sake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even though I walk through the darkest valley,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I fear no evil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you are with me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your rod and your staff—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they comfort me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You prepare a table before me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the presence of my enemies;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you anoint my head with oil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my cup overflows.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely* goodness and mercy* shall follow me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the days of my life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my whole life long.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 27</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my light and my salvation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>whom shall I fear?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is the stronghold* of my life;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of whom shall I be afraid?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When evildoers assail me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to devour my flesh—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my adversaries and foes—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they shall stumble and fall.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though an army encamp against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my heart shall not fear;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">though war rise up against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>yet I will be confident.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One thing I asked of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that will I seek after:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to live in the house of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the days of my life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to behold the beauty of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to inquire in his temple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he will hide me in his shelter</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the day of trouble;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will set me high on a rock.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now my head is lifted up</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>above my enemies all around me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and I will offer in his tent</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sacrifices with shouts of joy;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will sing and make melody to the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be gracious to me and answer me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your face, Lord, do I seek.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not hide your face from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not turn your servant away in anger,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you who have been my help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O God of my salvation!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If my father and mother forsake me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord will take me up.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me your way, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and lead me on a level path</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of my enemies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for false witnesses have risen against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they are breathing out violence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the land of the living.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wait for the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be strong, and let your heart take courage;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>wait for the Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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