Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice…
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And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be…
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He placed singers before the altar, to make sweet melody with their voices.He gave beauty to the festivals, and arranged their times throughout the year,while they praised God’s holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power for ever;he gave him a covenant of kingship and a glorious…
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When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: ‘I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the…
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See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?…
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The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’ From 2 Samuel 18:9-10,14,24-25,30-19:3, NRSV. King David’s son Absalom had…
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A messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the Israelites have gone after Absalom.’ Then David said to all his officials who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Get up! Let us flee, or there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us, and bring disaster down upon…
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Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’… They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. From Jeremiah…
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Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. From 2 Samuel 12:1-7,10-17, NRSV.…
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In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. From 2 Samuel 11:1-4,5-10,13-17, NRSV. In today’s reading we hear the familiar and dramatic story of King David’s…
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