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, April 25, 2013

Daily Prayer, Thursday, April 25, 2013

Praise the Lord from the earth,

all you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail,
snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

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 39
I said, “I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
Lord, let me know my end,
  and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.

You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
I am silent;
I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it.

Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
“You chastise mortals in punishment for sin,
   consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
Turn your gaze away from me,
  that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 40
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
   out of the miry bog,
   and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are those who make the Lord their trust,
   who do not turn to the proud,
   to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
   they would be more than can be counted.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
   but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love
   and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   keep me safe forever.
For evils have encompassed me without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
….
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
   say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
   but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.

Daily Lectionary Reading, Acts 11:13-18
13 He reported to us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. 14 He will tell you how you and your entire household can be saved.’ 15 When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as the Spirit fell on us in the beginning. 16 I remembered the Lord’s words: ‘John will baptize with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then who am I? Could I stand in God’s way? ” 18 Once the apostles and other believers heard this, they calmed down. They praised God and concluded, “ So then God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life. ” [Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: God, we remember how you have directed your people to accept those that we have been accustomed to exclude. Help us now to look at our congregation to see who is missing. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:68-77
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
The arrogant smear me with lies,
   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
Their hearts are fat and gross,
   but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was humbled,
   so that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me
   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding
   that I may learn your commandments.
Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
   because I have hoped in your word.

I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right,
   and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
Let your steadfast love become my comfort
   according to your promise to your servant.
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
   for your law is my delight.

Evening
Psalm 69
Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
….
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame
   because of me, O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored
   because of me, O God of Israel.
….
At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love,
   answer me. With your faithful help
rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies a
   nd from the deep waters.
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies.
….
lO God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than
   an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.

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