Daily Prayer, Wednesday, October 26, 2011

O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling (Psalm 43:5).



Morning
Invitatory Psalm 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!
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

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 43

Establish justice for me, God! 
Rescue me from the dishonest

and unjust!

Argue my case against ungodly people!

2 Because you are my God, my protective fortress!

Why have you rejected me?

Why do I have to walk around,

sad, oppressed by enemies?

3 Send your light and truth—

those will guide me!

Let them bring me

to your holy mountain,

to your dwelling place.

4 Let me come to God’s altar—

let me come to God, my joy, my delight—

then I will give you thanks with the lyre,

God, my God!

5 Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed?

Why are you so upset inside?

Hope in God!

Because I will again give him thanks,

my saving presence and my God. [Common English Bible]

Today's Prayer: O Lord our Unchanging God, we do trust in you, knowing that you are there to guide us on the path that leads to life - where the abundant love of God dwells, and where there is no darkness – only the light of God’s presence. So, why were we so discouraged? Why were we so depressed and sad? We will once again sing our songs of praise to God, and with joy, we will seek to follow in the paths God has chosen for us as God’s own loved ones. Amen.
If used in shared worship, please provide an acknowledgement as follows: © 2010 Joan Stott – "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C, used with permission. http://www.wesleychurchgeelong.net/w_resources/pentecost4[12]c_2010.htm



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.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!