Daily Lectionary in Poetry Tuesday 13th January 2015

Psalm 69:1-5, 30-36

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

1 Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
    my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy,
    and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
    and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live[a] there and possess it;
36     the children of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall live in it.

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Save me from drowning
the flood sweeps over me
I am tired from my crying
how much more waiting must there be?

Everyone hates me
so many in number are they
they would destroy me
and accuse me falsely

God you know my ills
you know what I've done wrong
But why must I suffer for more
Can I not sing your song?

I will praise you
and magnify your holy name
I will seek God
and I know my heart will do the same

All will worship you
For they know you hear their cries
their children will worship you
Your name will be forever told to the skies

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Exodus 30:22-38

The Anointing Oil and Incense
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23 Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred fifty, and two hundred fifty of aromatic cane, 24 and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil; 25 and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant,[a] 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand; 29 you shall consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, in order that they may serve me as priests. 31 You shall say to the Israelites, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an unqualified person shall be cut off from the people.”

34 The Lord said to Moses: Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (an equal part of each), 35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy; 36 and you shall beat some of it into powder, and put part of it before the covenant[b] in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you; it shall be for you most holy. 37 When you make incense according to this composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from the people.

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Take the finest spices
Of value and scent
Make a sacred oil
To anoint the tent

Anoint the ark of the covenant
The table and all 
You shall consecrate them 
With that Holy Oil

For no other use
May this oil be applied
Just for the Holy
For all else be denied

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Acts 22:2-16

2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew,[a] they became even more quiet. Then he said:

3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

Paul Tells of His Conversion
6 “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth[b] whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

12 “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13 came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 15 for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’

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I am Saul
And I am a Jew
Have always been thus
I'm a Jew through and through

In my past I heckled
I was openly against
Jesus and his teaching
But I stepped over the fence

On a road I was travelling
To Damascus headed
When a great light appeared
And this is what was said

I am Jesus
The one you always denied
Go now to Damascus
There you will be surprised

You'll find my followers
Waiting for you there
They'll tell you what to do
For me, you'll take your share

From that point on
I lost all of my sight
I had to be led onwards
To me it was black as night

I found Ananais
Spoke to him right away
He told me I was chosen
To share Jesus' word everyway

From there my sight returned
And changed was my life
Now I, Paul, spread the good news
Whether in goodness or in strife

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