Daily Office Readings

Week of Sunday, July-22-2012 - Proper 11 (7-20)
Wednesday

Daily Morning Prayer: Rite Two

Officiant begins with the following:

Confession of Sin

Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to set forth his praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy.

Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.

Silence may be kept.
Officiant and People together, all kneeling

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

*A deacon or lay person using the preceding form remains kneeling, and substitutes "us" for "you" and "our" for "your."

The Invitatory and Psalter

All stand

Officiant Lord, open our lips.
People And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Officiant and People
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever Amen.

-or-
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

On other Sundays and weekdays
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come, let us adore him.

On Feasts of the Incarnation
[Alleluia.] The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us: O come, let us adore him. [Alleluia.]

On all Saints and other Major Saints' Days
[Alleluia.] The Lord is glorious in his saints: O come, let us adore him. [Alleluia.]

Venite
Psalm 95:1-7

Come let us sing to the Lord; *
 let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. 
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
 and raise a loud shout to him with psalms. 

[Antiphon, if used.]

For the Lord is a great God, *
 and a great King above all gods. 
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
 and the heights of the hills are his also. 
The sea is his, for he made it, *
 and his hands have molded the dry land. 

[Antiphon, if used.]

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
 and kneel before the Lord our Maker. 
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
 Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Psalm or Psalms Appointed:

Psalm 119:49-72
⁴⁹Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.

⁵⁰This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.

⁵¹The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.

⁵²I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD,
And have comforted myself.

⁵³Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.

⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.

⁵⁵I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,
And I keep Your law.

⁵⁶This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

⁵⁷You are my portion, O LORD;
I have said that I would keep Your words.

⁵⁸I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.

⁵⁹I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

⁶⁰I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.

⁶¹The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.

⁶²At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.

⁶³I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.

⁶⁴The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

⁶⁵You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your word.

⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.

⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.

⁶⁸You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.

⁶⁹The proud have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.

⁷⁰Their heart is as fat as grease,
But I delight in Your law.

⁷¹It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.

⁷²The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

-- NKJV

Psalm 49
^{To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1}Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him-

⁸For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever-

⁹That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.

¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.

²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.
-- NKJV

[Psalm 53]
^{To the Chief Musician. Set to "Mahalath." A Contemplation of David.
1}The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

³Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon God?

⁵There they are in great fear
Where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
You have put them to shame,
Because God has despised them.

⁶Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
-- NKJV

At the end of the Psalm is sung or said

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:* 
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

The Lessons

The Old Testament Reading

Reader: A Reading (Lesson) from Joshua 8:30-35

Joshua 8:30-35
³⁰Now Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal, ³¹as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³²And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. ³³Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. -- NKJV

Reader:The Word of the Lord.
Answer: Thanks be to God.

11 The Third Song of Isaiah Surge, illuminare
Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a, 14c, 18-19

Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
 and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. 

For behold, darkness covers the land; *
 deep gloom enshrouds the peoples. 

But over you the Lord will rise, *
 and his glory will appear upon you. 

Nations will stream to your light, *
 and kings to the brightness of your dawning. 

Your gates will always be open; *
 by day or night they will never be shut. 

They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
 The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 

Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
 ruin or destruction within your borders. 

You will call your walls, Salvation, *
 and all your portals, Praise. 

The sun will no more be your light by day; *
 by night you will not need the brightness of the moon. 

The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
 and your God will be your glory. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 	world without end.  Amen. 

The New Testament Reading

Reader: A Reading (Lesson) from Romans 14:13-23

Romans 14:13-23
¹³Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. ¹⁴I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; ¹⁷for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. ²¹It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. ²²Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. -- NKJV

Reader:The Word of the Lord.
Answer: Thanks be to God.

16 The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus
Luke 1: 68-79

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
 he has come to his people and set them free. 

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
 born of the house of his servant David. 

Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
 from the hands of all who hate us. 

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
 and to remember his holy covenant. 

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
 to set us free from the hands of our enemies, 

Free to worship him without fear, *
 holy and righteous in his sight
 all the days of our life. 

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
 for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
 by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
 the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
	and to guide our feet into the way of peace. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 	world without end.  Amen. 

The Gospel

Reader: A reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew.

Matthew 26:57-68
⁵⁷And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward ⁶¹and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" ⁶²And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" ⁶³But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." ⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! ⁶⁶What do you think?" They answered and said, "He is deserving of death." ⁶⁷Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?" -- NKJV

Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

The Apostles' Creed
Officiant and People together, all standing

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
 creator of heaven and earth. 
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
 He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
	and born of the Virgin Mary.
 He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
 	was crucified, died, and was buried.
 He descended to the dead.
 On the third day he rose again.
 He ascended into heaven,
 	and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
 He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
 the holy catholic Church,
 the communion of saints,
 the forgiveness of sins,
 the resurrection of the body,
 and the life everlasting.  Amen.

The Prayers
The People stand or kneel

Our Father, who art in heaven,
  hallowed be thy Name,
  thy kingdom come,
  thy will be done,
  on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
  as we forgive those
  who trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom,
  and the power, and the glory,
  for ever and ever.  Amen. 

Our Father in heaven,
 hallowed be your Name,
 your kingdom come,
 your will be done,
	on earth as in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
 as we forgive those
	who sin against us. 

Save us from the time of trial,
 and deliver us from evil. 

For the kingdom, the power,
 and the glory are yours,
 now and for ever.  Amen. 

A
V. Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let your people sing with joy.
V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let your way be known upon earth;
R. Your saving health among all nations.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

B
V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. Govern and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day by day we bless you;
R. We praise your name for ever.
V. Lord, keep us from all sin today;
R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. For we put our trust in you.
V. In you, Lord, is our hope;
R. And we shall never hope in vain.

The Collect of the Day:

Proper 11
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

A Collect for Guidance
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then, unless the Eucharist or a form of general intercession is to follow, the following prayer for mission is added.

Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Authorized intercessions and thanksgivings may follow.

Before the close of the Office one or both of the following may be used

The General Thanksgiving
Officiant and People

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages.  Amen. 

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Officiant

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one
accord to make our common supplication to you; and you
have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two
or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the 
midst of them:  Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions
as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of
your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting.  Amen.

Then may be said
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Officiant concludes with:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
(Unless otherwise noted.)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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