Wednesday –
Year 1
Proper 26
Morning
Prayer
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
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.
Be joyful in the
Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come
before his presence with a song.
Know this: The
Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we
are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates
with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks
to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is
good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures
from age to age.
72
1 Give the King your justice, O God,
*
and your righteousness to the King's Son;
2 That he may
rule your people righteously *
and the poor with justice.
3
That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *
and the
little hills bring righteousness.
4 He shall defend the needy
among the people; *
he shall rescue the poor and crush the
oppressor.
5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure,
*
from one generation to another.
6 He shall come down like
rain upon the mown field, *
like showers that water the earth.
7
In his time shall the righteous flourish; *
there shall be
abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.
8 He shall
rule from sea to sea, *
and from the River to the ends of the
earth.
9 His foes shall bow
down before him, *
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 The kings
of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *
and the kings of
Arabia and Saba offer gifts.
11 All kings shall bow down
before him, *
and all the nations do him service.
12 For he
shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *
and the
oppressed who has no helper.
13 He shall have pity on the
lowly and poor; *
he shall preserve the lives of the needy.
14
He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *
and
dear shall their blood be in his sight.
15 Long may he
live!
and may there be given to him gold from Arabia; *
may
prayer be made for him always,
and may they bless him all the day
long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth,
growing
thick even on the hilltops; *
may its fruit flourish like
Lebanon,
and its grain like grass upon the earth.
17 May
his Name remain for ever
and be established as long as the sun
endures; *
may all the nations bless themselves in him and call
him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, *
who alone does
wondrous deeds!
19 And blessed be his glorious Name for ever!
*
and may all the earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
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 before this, the priest Eliashib, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously put the grain-offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. While this was taking place I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon I went to the king. After some time I asked leave of the king and returned to Jerusalem. I then discovered the wrong that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah, preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the room. Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back the vessels of the house of God, with the grain-offering and the frankincense.
I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who had conducted the service, had gone back to their fields. So I remonstrated with the officials and said, ‘Why is the house of God forsaken?’ And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful; and their duty was to distribute to their associates. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
In those days I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys; and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them at that time against selling food. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold them on the sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I remonstrated with the nobles of Judah and said to them, ‘What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? Did not your ancestors act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.’
When it began to be dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I set some of my servants over the gates, to prevent any burden from being brought in on the sabbath day. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, ‘Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.’ From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favour, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 11 The Third Song of Isaiah
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 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
A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule* all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
‘Now
have come the salvation and the power
and the
kingdom of our God
and the authority of his
Messiah,*
for
the accuser of our comrades*
has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and
night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of
the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for
they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice
then, you heavens
and those who dwell in
them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for
the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because
he knows that his time is short!’
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Canticle 16
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
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.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
Govern and uphold them, now and always.
Day by day we bless you;
We praise your name for ever.
Lord, keep us from all sin today;
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain.
Collect of the Day: 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 Peace
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of 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.
Glory to God
whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or
imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church,
and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21