Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Presbyterian Daily Readings For Wednesday, 2 March

From pcusa.org:

Daily Readings for Wednesday, March 2, 2011


Morning Psalms 96; 147:1-11

First Reading Deuteronomy 4:25-31

Second Reading 2 Corinthians 11:21b-33

Gospel Matthew 6:24-34

Evening Psalms 132; 134



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Morning Psalm 96



1 O sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be revered above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor;

tremble before him, all the earth.







10 Say among the nations, “The LORD is king!

The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

13 before the LORD; for he is coming,

for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with his truth.



Morning Psalm 147:1-11



1 Praise the Lord!

How good it is to sing praises to our God;

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars;

he gives to all of them their names.

5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.

6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;

he casts the wicked to the ground.







7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on the lyre.

8 He covers the heavens with clouds,

prepares rain for the earth,

makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He gives to the animals their food,

and to the young ravens when they cry.

10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;

11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.



First Reading Deuteronomy 4:25-31



25When you have had children and children’s children, and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and provoking him to anger, 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will lead you. 28There you will serve other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. 30In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the Lord your God and heed him. 31Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.



Second Reading 2 Corinthians 11:21b-33



21bBut whatever anyone dares to boast of — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast of that. 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman — I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. 24Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; 27in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. 28And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?



30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he for ever!) knows that I do not lie. 32In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas set a guard on the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.



Gospel Matthew 6:24-34



24“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.



25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.



34“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”



Evening Psalm 132



1 O LORD, remember in David’s favor

all the hardships he endured;

2 how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3 “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

4 I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5 until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”







6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool.”







8 Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

10 For your servant David’s sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.







11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12 If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

shall sit on your throne.”







13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

14 “This is my resting place forever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

15 I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam.”



Evening Psalm 134



1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,

who stand by night in the house of the LORD!

2 Lift up your hands to the holy place,

and bless the LORD.







3 May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.



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