THE LORD THE LORD OF BATTLE

1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51 ©

David said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your servant will go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.’

  ‘The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’

  He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’

  No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.

LET US SING TO THE LORD

O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name

Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families
of peoples, give the Lord the glory
and power, give the Lord the glory
of his name.

worship the Lord in his temple.
O earth, tremble before him.
Proclaim to the nations.
God is King.  He will jue
the peoples in fairness,  Psalm 95

OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

 1 Samuel 15:22-23

Samuel replied:

‘Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices

or in obedience to the voice of the Lord?

Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice,

submissiveness better than the fat of rams.

Rebellion is a sin of sorcery,

presumption a crime of teraphim.

 

GOOD MORNING

I WILL SING FOR EVER OF YOUR LOVE O LORD

Psalm 88(89):16-19 ©

GOOD MORNING 

 

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

Happy the people who acclaim such a king,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,

who find their joy every day in your name,

who make your justice the source of their bliss.

For you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength;

by your favour it is that our might is exalted;

for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord;

our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.

LORD IF YOU WANT TO YOU CAN HEAL ME

REDEEM US, O LORD, BECAUSE OF YOUR LOVE.

 

Mark 1:40-45 ©

A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.

 

Liturgical Readings for Thursday

LORD I COME TO DO YOUR WLL

Psalm 39(40):2,5,7-10 ©

 Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

I waited, I waited for the Lord

and he stooped down to me;

he heard my cry.

Happy the man who has placed

his trust in the Lord

and has not gone over to the rebels

who follow false gods.

ou do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

 Instead, here am I.

In the scroll of the book it stands written

that I should do your will.

My God, I delight in your law

in the depth of my heart.

Your justice I have proclaimed

in the great assembly.

My lips I have not sealed;

you know it, O Lord.

 Liturgical Readings of the day