It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Daily Prayer, Thursday, February 21, 2013


One thing I asked of the Lord,
that I will seek after;
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his trouble.

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 150
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 125
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
  which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
  so the Lord surrounds his people,
  from this time on and for evermore.
….

Psalm 126
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
  we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
  and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
  ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us,
  and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
  like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
  reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
  bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
  carrying their sheaves.

Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house,
  those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
  the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
  and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
  for he gives sleep to his beloved.

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
  the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
  are the sons of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has
  his quiver full of them.
He shall not be put to shame
  when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
  who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands;
  you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
….

Psalm 129

‘Often have they attacked me from my youth’
  —let Israel now say—
‘often have they attacked me from my youth,
  yet they have not prevailed against me.
Those who plough ploughed on my back;
  they made their furrows long.’
The Lord is righteous;
  he has cut the cords of the wicked.
May all who hate Zion
  be put to shame and turned back.
Let them be like the grass on the housetops
  that withers before it grows up,
with which reapers do not fill their hands
  or binders of sheaves their arms,
while those who pass by do not say,
  ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
  We bless you in the name of the Lord!’

Daily Lectionary Reading, Psalm 27:1-6 

The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
The LORD is a fortress protecting my life.
Should I be frightened of anything?
2 When evildoers come at me trying to eat me up—
it’s they, my foes and my enemies,
who stumble and fall!
3 If an army camps against me,
my heart won’t be afraid.
If war comes up against me,
I will continue to trust in this:
4 I have asked one thing from the LORD —
it’s all I seek—
to live in the LORD ’s house all the days of my life,
seeing the LORD ’s beauty
and constantly adoring his temple.
5 Because he will shelter me in his own dwelling
during troubling times;
he will hide me in a secret place in his own tent;
he will set me up high, safe on a rock.
6 Now my head is higher than the enemies surrounding me,
and I will offer sacrifices in God’s tent—
sacrifices with shouts of joy!
I will sing and praise the LORD .
7 LORD , listen to my voice when I cry out—
have mercy on me and answer me!
8 Come, my heart says, seek God’s face. [y]
LORD , I do seek your face!
9 Please don’t hide it from me!
Don’t push your servant aside angrily—
you have been my help!
God who saves me,
don’t neglect me!
Don’t leave me all alone!
10 Even if my father and mother left me all alone,
the LORD would take me in.
11 LORD , teach me your way;
because of my opponents, lead me on a good path.
12 Don’t give me over to the desires of my enemies,
because false witnesses and violent accusers
have taken their stand against me.
13 But I have sure faith
that I will experience the LORD ’s goodness
in the land of the living!
14 Hope in the LORD !
Be strong! Let your heart take courage!
Hope in the LORD !
_________________________________________________
y  Correction; MT My heart says to/of you…see my face!
[Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: Choose a prayer from Joan Stott's website Timeless Psalms

Midday Psalm 119:161-168
Princes persecute me without cause,
  but my heart stands in awe of your words.
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous ordinances.
Great peace have those who love your law;
  nothing can make them stumble.
I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
  and I fulfill your commandments.
My soul keeps your decrees;
I love them exceedingly.
I keep your precepts and decrees,
  for all my ways are before you.

Evening
Psalm 135
Praise the Lord!
  Praise the name of the Lord;
  give praise, O servants of the Lord,
you that stand in the house of the Lord,
  in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
  sing to his name, for he is gracious.
….
Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
  in heaven and on earth,
  in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise
  at the end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
  and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
….
Your name, O Lord, endures for ever,
  your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
For the Lord will vindicate his people,
  and have compassion on his servants.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
  the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
  they have eyes, but they do not see;
they have ears, but they do not hear,
  and there is no breath in their mouths.
Those who make them
  and all who trust them
  shall become like them.
….
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 136
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who alone does great wonders,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who by understanding made the heavens,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who spread out the earth on the waters,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who made the great lights,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the sun to rule over the day,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
and brought Israel out from among them,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who divided the Red Sea in two,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who led his people through the wilderness,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
….

It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
and rescued us from our foes,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever;
who gives food to all flesh,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever.

O give thanks to the God of heaven,
  for his steadfast love endures for ever.

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