The Daily Bible Readings
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Psalm 42; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Jude 17-25
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)
A Psalm and A Prayer
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Quemadmodum
Leader: As the deer longs for the water-brooks,
People: so longs my soul for you, O God.
Leader: My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God;
People: when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
Leader: My tears have been my food day and night,
People: while all day long they say to me, “Where now is your God?”
Leader: I pour out my soul when I think on these things;
People: how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,
Leader: With the voice of praise and thanksgiving,
People: among those who keep holy-day.
Leader: Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
People: and why are you so disquieted within me?
Leader: Put your trust in God;
People: for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Leader: My soul is heavy within me;
People: therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.
Leader: One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts;
People: all your rapids and floods have gone over me.
Leader: The LORD grants his loving-kindness in the daytime;
People: in the night season his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Leader: I will say to the God of my strength, “Why have you forgotten me?
People: and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?”
Leader: While my bones are being broken,
People: my enemies mock me to my face;
Leader: All day long they mock me
People: and say to me, “Where now is your God?”
Leader: Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
People: and why are you so disquieted within me?
Leader: Put your trust in God;
People: for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
O God, You are the great Creator. You reign as the Lord over all. Some do not acknowledge You as their Creator. Some deny Your very existence. Others know that You created them, but they do not obey You as the Lord over their lives. Help me to look upon the world around me and remember You are the source of all life and light. When evil seems to be on the winning side, and when it seems there is no chance for good to prevail, help me remember that You are Lord over all and more powerful than any circumstance. Forgive me when I have acted as though You did not exist, as though I had no responsibility to You as my Creator, Lord, and Savior. Fill my heart with love for You. Open my mind to see Your work in the world. Help me understand the Bible. Help me know how to apply Your Word to the way I live each day. Look into all our hearts today as we pray together:
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”
(The wilderness will flower)
Water Flowing from the Temple
47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.
3 Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 6 He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back along the bank of the river. 7 As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 9 Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. 10 People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
(Prepare for the Lord’s coming)
Warnings and Exhortations
17 But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 for they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.” 19 It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some who are wavering; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.
Benediction
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Optional parts of the readings are set off in [square brackets.]
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2023, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2022 was Year A. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Psalm 42; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Jude 17-25
