ESV: Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary

February 9 (5 Epiphany): Ps. 78:1-39; Ps. 78:40-72; Gen. 26:1-6, 12-33; Heb. 13:17-25; John 7:53-8:11 (ESV)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 78:1-39 (Listen)

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil of Asaph.

78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
  incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
  I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
  that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
  but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
  and the wonders that he has done.

He established a testimony in Jacob
  and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
  to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
  the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
  so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
  but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their fathers,
  a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
  whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
  turned back on the day of battle.
They did not keep God's covenant,
  but refused to walk according to his law.
They forgot his works
  and the wonders that he had shown them.
In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
  in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
  and made the waters stand like a heap.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
  and all the night with a fiery light.
He split rocks in the wilderness
  and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
He made streams come out of the rock
  and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

Yet they sinned still more against him,
  rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
They tested God in their heart
  by demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God, saying,
  “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
He struck the rock so that water gushed out
  and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
  or provide meat for his people?”

Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
  a fire was kindled against Jacob;
  his anger rose against Israel,
because they did not believe in God
  and did not trust his saving power.
Yet he commanded the skies above
  and opened the doors of heaven,
and he rained down on them manna to eat
  and gave them the grain of heaven.
Man ate of the bread of the angels;
  he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
  and by his power he led out the south wind;
he rained meat on them like dust,
  winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
  all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled,
  for he gave them what they craved.
But before they had satisfied their craving,
  while the food was still in their mouths,
the anger of God rose against them,
  and he killed the strongest of them
  and laid low the young men of Israel.

In spite of all this, they still sinned;
  despite his wonders, they did not believe.
So he made their days vanish like a breath,
  and their years in terror.
When he killed them, they sought him;
  they repented and sought God earnestly.
They remembered that God was their rock,
  the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths;
  they lied to him with their tongues.
Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
  they were not faithful to his covenant.
Yet he, being compassionate,
  atoned for their iniquity
  and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
  and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
  a wind that passes and comes not again.

Psalm 78:40-72 (Listen)

How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
  and grieved him in the desert!
They tested God again and again
  and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power
  or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
when he performed his signs in Egypt
  and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
He turned their rivers to blood,
  so that they could not drink of their streams.
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
  and frogs, which destroyed them.
He gave their crops to the destroying locust
  and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
He destroyed their vines with hail
  and their sycamores with frost.
He gave over their cattle to the hail
  and their flocks to thunderbolts.
He let loose on them his burning anger,
  wrath, indignation, and distress,
  a company of destroying angels.
He made a path for his anger;
  he did not spare them from death,
  but gave their lives over to the plague.
He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
  the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Then he led out his people like sheep
  and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
  but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
And he brought them to his holy land,
  to the mountain which his right hand had won.
He drove out nations before them;
  he apportioned them for a possession
  and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
  and did not keep his testimonies,
but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
  they twisted like a deceitful bow.
For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
  they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
When God heard, he was full of wrath,
  and he utterly rejected Israel.
He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
  the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
and delivered his power to captivity,
  his glory to the hand of the foe.
He gave his people over to the sword
  and vented his wrath on his heritage.
Fire devoured their young men,
  and their young women had no marriage song.
Their priests fell by the sword,
  and their widows made no lamentation.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
  like a strong man shouting because of wine.
And he put his adversaries to rout;
  he put them to everlasting shame.

He rejected the tent of Joseph;
  he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
but he chose the tribe of Judah,
  Mount Zion, which he loves.
He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
  like the earth, which he has founded forever.
He chose David his servant
  and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes he brought him
  to shepherd Jacob his people,
  Israel his inheritance.
With upright heart he shepherded them
  and guided them with his skillful hand.

Genesis 26:1-6 (Listen)

God's Promise to Isaac

26:1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Isaac and Abimelech

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Genesis 26:12-33 (Listen)

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

From there he went up to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Hebrews 13:17-25 (Listen)

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.

John 7:53-8:11 (Listen)

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]

The Woman Caught in Adultery

[[They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

Footnotes

[1] 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting
[3] 78:33 Hebrew in
[4] 78:33 Or vapor
[5] 78:42 Hebrew hand
[6] 26:20 Esek means contention
[7] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity
[8] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room
[9] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath
[10] 13:21 Some manuscripts you
[11] 13:22 Or brothers and sisters
[12] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 8 (5 Epiphany): Ps. 80; Ps. 77, [79]; Gen. 25:19-34; Heb. 13:1-16; John 7:37-52 (ESV)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 80 (Listen)

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
  you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
  Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
  and come to save us!

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

O LORD God of hosts,
  how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
  and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
  and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
  you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
  it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
  the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea
  and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
  so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
  and all that move in the field feed on it.

Turn again, O God of hosts!
  Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
  the stock that your right hand planted,
  and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
  may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
  the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
  give us life, and we will call upon your name!

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 77 (Listen)

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I cry aloud to God,
  aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
  in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
  my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
  when I meditate, my spirit faints.     Selah

You hold my eyelids open;
  I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
  the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
  let me meditate in my heart.”
  Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
  and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
  Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
  Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”     Selah

Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
  yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
  and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
  What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
  you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
  the children of Jacob and Joseph.     Selah

When the waters saw you, O God,
  when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
  indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
  the skies gave forth thunder;
  your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
  your lightnings lighted up the world;
  the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
  your path through the great waters;
  yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
  by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 79 (Listen)

How Long, O LORD?

A Psalm of Asaph.

79:1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
  they have defiled your holy temple;
  they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the bodies of your servants
  to the birds of the heavens for food,
  the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
They have poured out their blood like water
  all around Jerusalem,
  and there was no one to bury them.
We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
  mocked and derided by those around us.

How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
  Will your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out your anger on the nations
  that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
  that do not call upon your name!
For they have devoured Jacob
  and laid waste his habitation.

Do not remember against us our former iniquities;
  let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
  for we are brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation,
  for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
  for your name's sake!
Why should the nations say,
  “Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
  be known among the nations before our eyes!

Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
  according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
  the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
  will give thanks to you forever;
  from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Genesis 25:19-34 (Listen)

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”

When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Hebrews 13:1-16 (Listen)

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13:1 Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

John 7:37-52 (Listen)

Rivers of Living Water

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Footnotes

[1] 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19
[2] 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
[3] 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said
[4] 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed
[5] 77:19 Hebrew unknown
[6] 79:8 Or the iniquities of former generations
[7] 25:22 Or why do I live?
[8] 25:23 Or from birth
[9] 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats
[10] 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red
[11] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 7 (5 Epiphany): Ps. 93, 96; Ps. 34; Gen. 24:50-67; 2 Tim. 2:14-21; Mark 10:13-22 (ESV)

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 93 (Listen)

The LORD Reigns

93:1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
  the floods have lifted up their voice;
  the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
  mightier than the waves of the sea,
  the LORD on high is mighty!

Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, forevermore.

Psalm 96 (Listen)

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96:1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
  sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
  tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
  his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
  he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
  but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
  strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
  ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
  bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
  tremble before him, all the earth!

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
  let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
  let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
  before the LORD, for he comes,
  for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
  and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 34 (Listen)

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
  his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
  let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
  and let us exalt his name together!

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
  and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
  and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
  and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps
  around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
  for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
  but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
  I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
What man is there who desires life
  and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
  and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
  seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
  and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
  to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
  and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
  and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
  but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones;
  not one of them is broken.
Affliction will slay the wicked,
  and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
  none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Genesis 24:50-67 (Listen)

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken.”

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”

Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

2 Timothy 2:14-21 (Listen)

A Worker Approved by God

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

Mark 10:13-22 (Listen)

Let the Children Come to Me

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Footnotes

[1] 96:9 Or in holy attire
[2] 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
[3] 24:60 Or hate them
[4] 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord
[5] 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested
[6] 2:21 Greek from these things

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 6 (4 Epiphany): Ps. 75, 76; Ps. 23, 27; Gen. 24:28-38, 49-51; Heb. 12:12-29; John 7:14-36 (ESV)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 75 (Listen)

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

75:1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.

“At the set time that I appoint
  I will judge with equity.
When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
  it is I who keep steady its pillars.     Selah
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
  and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
do not lift up your horn on high,
  or speak with haughty neck.’”

For not from the east or from the west
  and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
but it is God who executes judgment,
  putting down one and lifting up another.
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
  with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
  and all the wicked of the earth
  shall drain it down to the dregs.

But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Psalm 76 (Listen)

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

76:1 In Judah God is known;
  his name is great in Israel.
His abode has been established in Salem,
  his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flashing arrows,
  the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.     Selah

Glorious are you, more majestic
  than the mountains of prey.
The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
  they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
  were unable to use their hands.
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
  both rider and horse lay stunned.

But you, you are to be feared!
  Who can stand before you
  when once your anger is roused?
From the heavens you uttered judgment;
  the earth feared and was still,
when God arose to establish judgment,
  to save all the humble of the earth.     Selah

Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
  the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
  let all around him bring gifts
  to him who is to be feared,
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
  who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 23 (Listen)

The LORD Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
  He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
  He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
  for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
  I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
  your rod and your staff,
  they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
  in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
  my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
  all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
  forever.

Psalm 27 (Listen)

The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the LORD,
  that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
  all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
  and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
  be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
  “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
  Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
  O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
  O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
  but the LORD will take me in.

Teach me your way, O LORD,
  and lead me on a level path
  because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
  for false witnesses have risen against me,
  and they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
  in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
  be strong, and let your heart take courage;
  wait for the LORD!

Genesis 24:28-38 (Listen)

Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. He said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”

So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’

Genesis 24:49-51 (Listen)

Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

Hebrews 12:12-29 (Listen)

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

John 7:14-36 (Listen)

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Footnotes

[1] 75:1 Hebrew They
[2] 76:10 Or extremity
[3] 23:2 Hebrew beside waters of rest
[4] 23:3 Or in right paths
[5] 23:4 Or the valley of deep darkness
[6] 23:6 Or Only
[7] 23:6 Or steadfast love
[8] 23:6 Or shall return to dwell
[9] 23:6 Hebrew for length of days
[10] 27:1 Or refuge
[11] 27:3 Or in this
[12] 27:4 Or meditate
[13] 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person
[14] 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
[15] 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed
[16] 12:23 Or church
[17] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters
[18] 7:17 Greek his

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 5 (4 Epiphany): Ps. 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; Ps. 73; Gen. 24:1-27; Heb. 12:3-11; John 7:1-13 (ESV)

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 69:1-23 (Listen)

Save Me, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

69:1 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 out;
  my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
  with waiting for my God.

More in number than the hairs of my head
  are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
  those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
  must I now restore?
O God, you know my folly;
  the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
  O Lord GOD of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
  O God of Israel.
For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
  that dishonor has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
  an alien to my mother's sons.

For zeal for your house has consumed me,
  and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
  it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
  I became a byword to them.
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
  and the drunkards make songs about me.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
  At an acceptable time, O God,
  in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
Deliver me
  from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
  and from the deep waters.
Let not 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.
Hide not your face from your servant;
  for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
  ransom me because of my enemies!

You know my reproach,
  and my shame and my dishonor;
  my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
  so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
  and for comforters, but I found none.
They gave me poison for food,
  and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.

Psalm 69:24-30 (Listen)

Pour out your indignation upon them,
  and let your burning anger overtake them.
May their camp be a desolation;
  let no one dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
  and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
Add to them punishment upon punishment;
  may they have no acquittal from you.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
  let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:31-36 (Listen)

This will please the LORD more than an ox
  or a bull with horns and hoofs.
When the humble see it they will be glad;
  you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the LORD hears the needy
  and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise him,
  the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
  and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
  the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
  and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Psalm 73 (Listen)

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of Asaph.

73:1 Truly God is good to Israel,
  to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
  my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
  when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;
  their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
  they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
  violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness;
  their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
  loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
  and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them,
  and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know?
  Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked;
  always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
  and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken
  and rebuked every morning.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
  I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places;
  you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
  swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
  O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
  when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
  I was like a beast toward you.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
  you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
  and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
  but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
  you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
  I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
  that I may tell of all your works.

Genesis 24:1-27 (Listen)

Isaac and Rebekah

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?” She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen.”

Hebrews 12:3-11 (Listen)

Do Not Grow Weary

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

John 7:1-13 (Listen)

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

Footnotes

[1] 69:1 Or waters threaten my life
[2] 69:10 Hebrew lacks and humbled
[3] 69:22 Hebrew; a slight revocalization yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome) a snare, and retribution and a trap
[4] 69:27 Hebrew may they not come into your righteousness
[5] 73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
[6] 73:26 Hebrew rock
[7] 24:10 Hebrew Aram-naharaim
[8] 24:14 Or By her
[9] 24:16 Or a woman of marriageable age
[10] 24:22 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[11] 7:1 Or Judeans
[12] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10
[13] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 4 (4 Epiphany): Ps. [70], 71; Ps. 74; Gen. 23:1-20; Heb. 11:32-12:2; John 6:60-71 (ESV)

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 70 (Listen)

O LORD, Do Not Delay

To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.

70:1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
  O LORD, make haste to help me!
Let them be put to shame and confusion
  who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
  who delight in my hurt!
Let them turn back because of their shame
  who say, “Aha, Aha!”

May all who seek you
  rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
  say evermore, “God is great!”
But I am poor and needy;
  hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
  O LORD, do not delay!

Psalm 71 (Listen)

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

71:1 In you, O LORD, do 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,
  to which I may continually come;
you have given the command 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 man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
  my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
  you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,
  but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
  and with your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
  forsake me not when my strength is spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me;
  those who watch for my life consult together
and say, “God has forsaken him;
  pursue and seize him,
  for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me;
  O my God, make haste to help me!
May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
  with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
  who seek my hurt.
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 the day,
  for their number is past my knowledge.
With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
  I will remind them of 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 another generation,
  your power to all those to come.
Your righteousness, O God,
  reaches 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 greatness
  and comfort me 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 redeemed.
And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
  who sought to do me hurt.

Psalm 74 (Listen)

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil of Asaph.

74:1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
  Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
  which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
  Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
  the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
  they set up their own signs for signs.
They were like those who swing axes
  in a forest of trees.
And all its carved wood
  they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
  they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
  bringing it down to the ground.
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
  they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

We do not see our signs;
  there is no longer any prophet,
  and there is none among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
  Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
  Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

Yet God my King is from of old,
  working salvation in the midst of the earth.
You divided the sea by your might;
  you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
  you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
You split open springs and brooks;
  you dried up ever-flowing streams.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
  you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
  you have made summer and winter.

Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.

Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Genesis 23 (Listen)

Sarah's Death and Burial

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” The Hittites answered Abraham, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” Ephron answered Abraham, “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Hebrews 11:32-12:2 (Listen)

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 6:60-71 (Listen)

The Words of Eternal Life

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

Footnotes

[1] 74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[3] 74:11 Hebrew from your bosom
[4] 74:13 Or the great sea creatures
[5] 23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20
[6] 23:6 Or a mighty prince
[7] 23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[8] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.

February 3 (4 Epiphany): Ps. 72; Ps. 119:73-96; Gen. 22:1-18; Heb. 11:23-31; John 6:52-59 (ESV)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:01:00 -0800

Psalm 72 (Listen)

Give the King Your Justice

Of Solomon.

72:1 Give the king your justice, O God,
  and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
  and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
  and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
  give deliverance to the children of the needy,
  and crush the oppressor!

May they fear you 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 the righteous flourish,
  and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

May he have dominion from sea to sea,
  and from the River to the ends of the earth!
May desert tribes bow down before him,
  and his enemies lick the dust!
May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
  render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
  bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
  all nations serve him!

For he delivers the needy when he calls,
  the poor and him who has 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.

Long may he live;
  may gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
  and blessings invoked for him all the day!
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
  on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
  may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
  like the grass of the field!
May his name endure forever,
  his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him,
  all nations call him blessed!

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
  who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
  may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
     Amen and Amen!

The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Psalm 119:73-96 (Listen)

Yodh

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 rules are righteous,
  and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Let your steadfast love comfort me
  according to your promise to your servant.
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
  for your law is my delight.
Let the insolent be put to shame,
  because they have wronged me with falsehood;
  as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
Let those who fear you turn to me,
  that they may know your testimonies.
May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
  that I may not be put to shame!

Kaph

My soul longs for your salvation;
  I hope in your word.
My eyes long for your promise;
  I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
  yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
  When will you judge those who persecute me?
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
  they do not live according to your law.
All your commandments are sure;
  they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth,
  but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love give me life,
  that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

Lamedh

Forever, O LORD, your word
  is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
  you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
By your appointment they stand this day,
  for all things are your servants.
If your law had not been my delight,
  I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
  for by them you have given me life.
I am yours; save me,
  for I have sought your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
  but I consider your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
  but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Genesis 22:1-18 (Listen)

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Hebrews 11:23-31 (Listen)

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

John 6:52-59 (Listen)

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Footnotes

[1] 72:5 Septuagint He shall endure
[2] 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
[3] 119:84 Hebrew How many are the days of your servant?
[4] 22:5 Or young man; also verse 12
[5] 22:14 Or will see
[6] 22:14 Or he will be seen
[7] 22:17 Or their
[8] 6:58 Greek lacks the bread
[9] 6:59 Greek He

This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer.