Monday –
Year 1 Proper 26
Morning Prayer
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1
Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Venite
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.
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.
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!
Psalms
56
1
Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding me; *
all
day long they assault and oppress me.
2 They hound me all the
day long; *
truly there are many who fight against me, O Most
High.
3 Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in
you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust and will
not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
5 All day
long they damage my cause; *
their
only thought is to do me evil.
6
They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon my
footsteps;
because they seek my life.
7 Shall they escape
despite their wickedness? *
O God, in your anger, cast down the
peoples.
8
You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your bottle;
*
are they not recorded in your book?
9 Whenever I call
upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
this I know, for God
is on my side.
10 In God the Lord, whose word I praise,
in
God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to
me?
11 I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will
present to you thank-offerings;
12 For you have rescued my
soul from death and my feet from stumbling, *
that I may walk
before God in the light of the living.
57
1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in
you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until
this time of trouble has gone by.
2 I will call upon the Most
High God, *
the God who maintains my cause.
3 He will send
from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon
me; *
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
4
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth
are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.
5 They
have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low; *
they have
dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.
6
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all
the earth.
7 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is
fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
8 Wake up, my
spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the
dawn.
9 I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I
will sing praise to you among the nations.
10 For your
loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your
faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
11 Exalt yourself above
the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Now when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that there was no gap left in it (though up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.’ But they intended to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?’ They sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, ‘It is reported among the nations—and Geshem* also says it—that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall; and according to this report you wish to become their king. You have also set up prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, “There is a king in Judah!” And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. So come, therefore, and let us confer together.’ Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say have been done; you are inventing them out of your own mind’ —for they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.’ But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
One day when I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house, he said, ‘Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, tonight they are coming to kill you.’ But I said, ‘Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!’ Then I perceived and saw that God had not sent him at all, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He was hired for this purpose, to intimidate me and make me sin by acting in this way, and so they could give me a bad name, in order to taunt me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid* and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Surely, it is God
who saves me; *
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is
my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you
shall draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of salvation.
And on that day
you shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds
known among the peoples; *
see that they remember that his Name is
exalted.
Sing the praises
of the Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in
all the world.
Cry aloud,
inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the
midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading
And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in
a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and
his legs like pillars of fire. He held a little scroll open in his
hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the
land, he gave a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he
shouted, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had
sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven
saying, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not
write it down.’ Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea
and the land
raised his right hand to heaven
and
swore by him who lives for ever and ever,
who created heaven and
what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is
in it: ‘There will be no more delay, but in the days when the
seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be
fulfilled, as he announced to his servants*
the prophets.’
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.’ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, ‘Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.’ So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
Then they said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.’
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O ruler of the
universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done,
*
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of
righteousness and truth, *
O King of all the
ages
Who can fail to do you homage, Lord
and sing the praises
of your Name
for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will
draw near and fall down before you
because your just and holy
works have been revealed.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
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
power of 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
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
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.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: Pentecost, proper 26
Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, who divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
General Thanksgiving
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.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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