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.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Daily Prayer, Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Restore us, O God;
  let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Morning
Invitatory Psalm Wed 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into the Lord’s presence with singing.

We know that you are God.
It is you that made us, and we are yours.
we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.

We enter your gates with thanksgiving,
and your courts with praise.
We give thanks to you, bless your name.
For you, O Lord, are good;
your steadfast love endures forever,
and your faithfulness to all generations.


Psalm 71
In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
….

My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together.
They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.”

O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
....
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.

Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again;
    from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued.
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
….

Psalm 72
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
May he live while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
    like showers that water the earth.

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound,
     until the moon is no more.
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
….

For he delivers the needy when they call,
    the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
    and precious is their blood in his sight.
...
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be your glorious name forever; may your glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.


Daily Lectionary Reading, Psalm 80

 Shepherd of Israel, listen!
You, the one who leads Joseph
as if he were a sheep.
You, who are enthroned
upon the winged heavenly creatures.
Show yourself 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh!
Wake up your power!
Come to save us!
3 Restore us, God!
Make your face shine
so that we can be saved!
4 LORD God of heavenly forces,
how long will you fume
against your people’s prayer?
5 You’ve fed them bread made of tears;
you’ve given them tears
to drink three times over!
6 You’ve put us at odds with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.
7 Restore us, God of heavenly forces!
Make your face shine
so that we can be saved!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
then it planted its roots deep,
filling the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shade;
the mighty cedars were covered
by its branches.
11 It sent its branches
all the way to the sea;
its shoots went
all the way to the Euphrates River.
12 So why have you now torn down its walls
so that all who come along
can pluck its fruit,
13 so that any boar from the forest
can tear it up,
so that the bugs can feed on it?
14 Please come back, God of heavenly forces!
Look down from heaven and perceive it!
Attend to this vine,
15 this root that you planted
with your strong hand,
this son whom you secured
as your very own.
16 It is burned with fire.
It is chopped down.
They die at the rebuke coming from you.
17 Let your hand be
with the one on your right side—
with the one whom you secured
as your own—
18 then we will not turn away from you!
Revive us
so that we can call on your name.
19 Restore us,
LORD God of heavenly forces!
Make your face shine
so that we can be saved! [Common English Bible]

Today's Prayer: O Lord, the Great Shepherd of your people—
we come to worship you, seeking your tender care.
Lead us, Good Shepherd, into your path of your
fullness of life, through your justice, peace and joy.


O God the Father of us all, we are aware that we
have failed to worship and serve you as we should.
Come to us, Restoring Lord, with your forgiveness;
and bind us to yourself as your belovèd children.


May the radiant light of God’s face shine upon us
as we come to worship the God of light and mercy.
As we receive the light of your presence, O God,
may our prayers and our worship be acceptable to you. Amen.
If used in shared worship, please provide an acknowledgement as follows:
© 2010 Joan Stott – "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A, used with permission.

Midday Psalm 119:105-112


Evening
Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. 
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, 
you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.

You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, 
to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.

People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

When you hide your face, they are dismayed; 
when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

.... 

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

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