The Old Testament Lesson
The Old Testament Lesson for today is taken from Isaiah 51:17-23
Rouse yourself, rouse yourself! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering. There is no one to guide her among all the children she has borne; there is no one to take her by the hand among all the children she has brought up. These two things have befallen you-- who will grieve with you?-- devastation and destruction, famine and sword-- who will comfort you? Your children have fainted, they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God. Therefore hear this, you who are wounded, who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Sovereign, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; you shall drink no more from the bowl of my wrath. And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, "Bow down, that we may walk on you" and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to walk on.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Epistle Lesson
The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from Galatians 4:1-11
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Holy Gospel Lesson
The Holy Gospel is written in Mark 7:24-37
Glory be to Thee, O Lord
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
Here ends the Gospel lesson for today.
Glory be to Thee ,O Christ!
Morning Psalms
Psalm 56 Miserere mei, Deus
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.
Psalm 57 Miserere mei, Deus
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.
Psalm 58 Si vere utique
1 Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? do you judge the peoples with equity?
2 No; you devise evil in your hearts, and your hands deal out violence in the land.
3 The wicked are perverse from the womb; liars go astray from their birth.
4 They are as venomous as a serpent, they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,
5 Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, no matter how skillful his charming.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouths; pull the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
7 Let them vanish like water that runs off; let them wither like trodden grass.
8 Let them be like the snail that melts away, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9 Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier; like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.
10 The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And they will say, "Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; surely, there is a God who rules in the earth."
Evening Psalms
Psalm 64 Exaudi, Deus
1 Hear my voice, O God, when I complain; protect my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the mob of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their bitter words like arrows,
4 That they may shoot down the blameless from ambush; they shoot without warning and are not afraid.
5 They hold fast to their evil course; they plan how they may hide their snares.
6 They say, "Who will see us? who will find out our crimes? we have thought out a perfect plot."
7 The human mind and heart are a mystery; but God will loose an arrow at them, and suddenly they will be wounded.
8 He will make them trip over their tongues, and all who see them will shake their heads.
9 Everyone will stand in awe and declare God's deeds; they will recognize his works.
10 The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and put their trust in him, and all who are true of heart will glory.
Psalm 65 Te decet hymnus
1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion; to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
2 To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come, because of their transgressions.
3 Our sins are stronger than we are, but you will blot them out.
4 Happy are they whom you choose and draw to your courts to dwell there! they will be satisfied by the beauty of your house, by the holiness of your temple.
5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness, O God of our salvation, O Hope of all the ends of the earth and of the seas that are far away.
6 You make fast the mountains by your power; they are girded about with might.
7 You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the clamor of the peoples.
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at your marvelous signs; you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very plenteous; the river of God is full of water.
10 You prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth.
11 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.
12 You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty.
13 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, and the hills be clothed with joy.
14 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks, and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; let them shout for joy and sing.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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