Preparing for
The Reign of Christ
Year B

Daily Readings for Thursday
November 18, 2021

Prayer

Almighty God, 

you remembered the oath you swore to David 

and so established a glorious realm of salvation 

through Jesus of Nazareth, his heir. 

Train our eyes to see your righteous rule, 

that, standing firmly in hope 

before the powers of this world, 

we may heed your voice 

and be constant in your truth. Amen.

 

Psalm 132:1-12 [13-18]

The faithful sing with joy

 

O Lord, remember in David’s favor

all the hardships he endured;

how he swore to the Lord

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

“I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

until I find a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

We heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

“Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool.”

Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

For your servant David’s sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

The Lord swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

shall sit on your throne.”

[For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

“This is my resting place forever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam.”]

 

2 Kings 22:1-10

Josiah, a righteous king

 

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

 

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, “Go up to the high priest Hilkiah, and have him count the entire sum of the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people; let it be given into the hand of the workers who have the oversight of the house of the Lord; let them give it to the workers who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house, that is, to the carpenters, to the builders, to the masons; and let them use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

 

The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” When Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, he read it. Then Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workers who have oversight of the house of the Lord.” Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” Shaphan then read it aloud to the king.

 

Acts 7:54—8:1a

The Son of God’s right hand

 

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died. And Saul approved of their killing him.

 

 

Prayer

Most High God, majestic and almighty, 

our beginning and our end: 

rule in our hearts 

and guide us to be faithful in our daily actions, 

worshiping the one who comes 

as Savior and Sovereign, 

and who lives and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

 

Psalm 93

Your throne has been established

 

The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;

the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.

He has established the world; it shall never be moved;

your throne is established from of old;

you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their roaring.

More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,

more majestic than the waves of the sea,

majestic on high is the Lord!

Your decrees are very sure;

holiness befits your house,

O Lord, forevermore.

 

Ezekiel 28:1-10

A king pretends to be God

 

The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:

 

Because your heart is proud

and you have said, “I am a god;

I sit in the seat of the gods,

in the heart of the seas,”

yet you are but a mortal, and no god,

though you compare your mind

with the mind of a god.

You are indeed wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you;

by your wisdom and your understanding

you have amassed wealth for yourself,

and have gathered gold and silver

into your treasuries.

By your great wisdom in trade

you have increased your wealth,

and your heart has become proud in your wealth.

Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Because you compare your mind

with the mind of a god,

therefore, I will bring strangers against you,

the most terrible of the nations;

they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom

and defile your splendor.

They shall thrust you down to the Pit,

and you shall die a violent death

in the heart of the seas.

Will you still say, “I am a god,”

in the presence of those who kill you,

though you are but a mortal, and no god,

in the hands of those who wound you?

You shall die the death of the uncircumcised

by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, says the Lord God.

 

Acts 7:54—8:1a

The Son of God’s right hand

 

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died. And Saul approved of their killing him.

 

 

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Prayer reprinted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts. Reproduced by permission.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress. Reproduced by permission. No further reproduction allowed without the written permission of Augsburg Fortress.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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