Daily Lectionary in Poetry Thursday 27th November 2014

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2     before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
    and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears,
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us the scorn[a] of our neighbours;
    our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
    the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will never turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Listen to us Lord
Come save us from our pain
Shine your light of love upon us
So we might suffer no more again

Trust us oh Lord
We will serve you always
We will never turn our backs from you
We will be yours all of our days

_______________________________________________________________________________

Zechariah 13:1-9

13 On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

Idolatry Cut Off
2 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord”; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy. 4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, 5 but each of them will say, “I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession[a] since my youth.” 6 And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[b] the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”

The Shepherd Struck, the Flock Scattered
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
    two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    and one-third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
    refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, “They are my people”;
    and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

The fountain will release
Water will flow to clean the world
Clearing away all those who speak against God

The fire will burn
They will meet the fire and be tested
Removing all those who are not true to God

The world will remain
Filled with those who know the truth
They will spread the word and worship God

_______________________________________________________________________________

Revelation 14:6-13

The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live[a] on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgement has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

8 Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, 10 they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of[b] Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

An angel came to earth
An angel with much to tell
He will speak to all on earth
He may whisper or he may yell

Know God
Fear God
Worship God
Who made everything

A second angel came
Came with news to fear
The world has fallen far
God's face is filled with tears

Know God
Fear God
Worship God
Who made everything

A third angel cried
He followed the two in tears
Do not worship evil beings
Before God you will have fear

Know God
Fear God
Worship God
Who made everything

These angels spoke the truth
God made commandments to keep
Hold true to Jesus' faith
Then their love you will always reap