Daily Lectionary:

Morning: Psalm 148:1-14
Numbers 24:1-13
Romans 8:12-17
Matthew 22:15-22
Evening: Psalm 20:1-9

 

Morning: Psalm 148:1-14

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

²Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his host!

³Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴Praise him, you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he commanded and they were created.

⁶He established them forever and ever;

he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,

you sea monsters and all deeps,

⁸fire and hail, snow and frost,

stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰Wild animals and all cattle,

creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹²Young men and women alike,

old and young together!

¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for his people,

praise for all his faithful,

for the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

Numbers 24:1-13

¹Now Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, so he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. ²Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him, ³and he uttered his oracle, saying:

"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, ⁴the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with eyes uncovered: ⁵how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! ⁶Like palm-groves that stretch far away, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. ⁷Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall have abundant water, his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸God who brings him out of Egypt, is like the horns of a wild ox for him; he shall devour the nations that are his foes and break their bones. He shall strike with his arrows. ⁹He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you." ¹⁰Then Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but instead you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹Now be off with you! Go home! I said, 'I will reward you richly,' but the LORD has denied you any reward." ¹²And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the LORD says, that is what I will say'?

Romans 8:12-17

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Matthew 22:15-22

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" ²¹They answered, "The emperor’s." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s." ²²When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Evening: Psalm 20:1-9

¹The LORD answer you in the day of trouble!

The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

²May he send you help from the sanctuary,

and give you support from Zion.

³May he remember all your offerings,

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah

⁴May he grant you your heart's desire,

and fulfill all your plans.

⁵May we shout for joy over your victory,

and in the name of our God set up our banners.

May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

⁶Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with mighty victories by his right hand.

⁷Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,

but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God.

⁸They will collapse and fall,

but we shall rise and stand upright.

⁹Give victory to the king, O LORD;

answer us when we call.