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.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Daily Prayer, Tuesday, May 14, 2013


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

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
  at your altars,
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Happy are those who live in your house,
  ever singing your praise. Selah
….
O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Psalm 9
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
….

You judge the world with righteousness;
you judge the peoples with equity.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
   for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
….
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up
   from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
   and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
   rejoice in your deliverance.
….
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
   nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
….

Psalm 10
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor
   — let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
  those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say,
   “God will not seek it out”;
….
they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
They stoop, they crouch,
   and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart,
   “God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face,
       he will never see it.”

Rise up, O Lord;
O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts,
   “You will not call us to account”?
But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
   that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;       
   you have been the helper of the orphan.
….
O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
   so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

Daily Lectionary Reading, John 14:12-17, 25-27
12 I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. 14 When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, [v] who will be with you forever. 17 This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.

25 “I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. 26 The Companion, [v] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you. 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.

Prayer for Today: Lord, stir up in us the love for you that will keep us faithful to your commandments. Open us to your Spirit that continues to be with us, that continues to instruct us, that continues to ease our troubles and calms out fears. Amen.
_________________________________________________ v Or Advocate [Common English Bible]


Midday Psalm 119:9-16
How can young people keep their way pure?
   By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart,
   so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Evening
Psalm 11
In the Lord I take refuge;
   how can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to the mountains;
   for look, the wicked bend the bow,
   they have fitted their arrow to the string,
   to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
   and his soul hates the lover of violence.
….
For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds;
    the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 14
Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
    there is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
   to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.
They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
   there is no one who does good, no, not one.
Have they no knowledge,
   all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread,
   and do not call upon the Lord?
There they shall be in great terror,
   for God is with the company of the righteous.
You would confound the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.
….

Psalm 15
O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly,
    and do what is right,
    and speak the truth from their heart;
    who do not slander with their tongue,
    and do no evil to their friends,
    nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
    in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
    but who honor those who fear the Lord;
    who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
    who do not lend money at interest,
     and do not take a bribe against the innocent.

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 16
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
….
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
  because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
   my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
   or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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