Morning Prayer
Psalm 63. Deus, Deus meus.
1 O GOD, thou art my God; * early will I seek thee.
2 My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee, * in a barren and dry land where no water is.
3 Thus have I looked for thee in the sanctuary, * that I might behold thy power and glory.
4 For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself: * my lips shall praise thee.
5 As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner, * and lift up my hands in thy Name.
6 My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness, * when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
7 Have I not remembered thee in my bed, * and thought upon thee when I was waking?
8 Because thou hast been my helper; * therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
9 My soul hangeth upon thee; * thy right hand hath upholden me.
10 These also that seek the hurt of my soul, * they shall go under the earth.
11 Let them fall upon the edge of the sword, * that they may be a portion for foxes.
12 But the King shall rejoice in God; all they also that swear by him shall be commended; * for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
First Lesson:
Joshua 6:1-7, 11, 14-20
1)Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2)And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3)And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4)And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5)And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. 6)And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. 7)And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. 11)So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 14)And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15)And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16)And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. 17)And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18)And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19)But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. 20)So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Second Lesson:
Luke 6:1-11
1)And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2)And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3)And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4)How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5)And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. 6)And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7)And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8)But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9)Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10n )And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11)And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
Evening Prayer
Psalm 65. Te decet hymnus.
1 THOU, O God, art praised in Sion; * and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
2 Thou that hearest the prayer, * unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 My misdeeds prevail against me: * O be thou merciful unto our sins.
4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thee: * he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
5 Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation; * thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea.
6 Who in his strength setteth fast the mountains, * and is girded about with power.
7 Who stilleth the raging of the sea, * and the noise of his waves, and the madness of the peoples.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens, * thou that makest the out-goings of the morning and evening to praise thee.
9 Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it; * thou makest it very plenteous.
10 The river of God is full of water: * thou preparest their corn, for so thou providest for the earth.
11 Thou waterest her furrows; thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof; * thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.
12 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; * and thy clouds drop fatness.
13 They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness; * and the little hills shall rejoice on every side.
14 The folds shall be full of sheep; * the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn, that they shall laugh and sing.
First Lesson:
Neh. 2:1-8
1)And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2)Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 3)And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4)Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5)And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. 6)And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7)Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 8)And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Second Lesson:
Acts 12:25-13:12
25)And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. (Acts.13) 1)Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2)As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3)And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4)So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5)And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 6)And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: 7)Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8)But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9)Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10)And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11)And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12)Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.