Morning Prayer Readings
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

The First Lesson
The Second Lesson
The Collect
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The Psalter

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers



 

The Psalter (First Set of Propers)


Psalm 66


The Sixty-Sixth Psalm

Jubilate Deo.


O BE joyful in God, all ye lands; * sing praises unto the honour of his Name; make his praise to be glorious.
 
Say unto God, O how wonderful art thou in thy works! * through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies bow down unto thee.
 
For all the world shall worship thee, * sing of thee, and praise thy Name.
 
O come hither, and behold the works of God; * how wonderful he is in his doing toward the children of men.
 
He turned the sea into dry land, * so that they went through the water on foot; there did we rejoice thereof.
 
He ruleth with his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: * and such as will not believe shall not be able to exalt themselves.
 
O praise our God, ye peoples, * and make the voice of his praise to be heard;
 
Who holdeth our soul in life; * and suffereth not our feet to slip.
 
For thou, O God, hast proved us; * thou also hast tried us, like as silver is tried.
 
Thou broughtest us into the snare; * and laidest trouble upon our loins.
 
Thou sufferedst men to ride over our heads; * we went through fire and water, and thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
 
I will go into thine house with burnt-offerings, and will pay thee my vows, * which I promised with my lips, and spake with my mouth, when I was in trouble.
 
I will offer unto thee fat burnt-sacrifices, with the incense of rams; * I will offer bullocks and goats.
 
O come hither, and hearken, all ye that fear God; * and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul.
 
I called unto him with my mouth, * and gave him praises with my tongue.
 
If I incline unto wickedness with mine heart, * the Lord will not hear me.
 
But God hath heard me; * and considered the voice of my prayer.
 
Praised be God, who hath not cast out my prayer, * nor turned his mercy from me.



 

The Psalter (Second Set of Propers)


Psalm 18:1-20


The Eighteenth Psalm

Diligam te, Domine.


I WILL love thee, O LORD, my strength. * The LORD is my stony rock, and my defence;
 
My Saviour, my God, and my might, in whom I will trust; * my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.
 
I will call upon the LORD, which is worthy to be praised; * so shall I be safe from mine enemies.
 
The sorrows of death compassed me, * and the overflowings of ungodliness made me afraid.
 
The pains of hell came about me; * the snares of death overtook me.
 
In my trouble I called upon the LORD, * and complained unto my God:
 
So he heard my voice out of his holy temple, * and my complaint came before him; it entered even into his ears.
 
The earth trembled and quaked, * the very foundations also of the hills shook, and were removed, because he was wroth.
 
There went a smoke out in his presence, * and a consuming fire out of his mouth, so that coals were kindled at it.
 
He bowed the heavens also, and came down, * and it was dark under his feet.
 
He rode upon the Cherubim, and did fly; * he came flying upon the wings of the wind.
 
He made darkness his secret place, * his pavilion round about him with dark water, and thick clouds to cover him.
 
At the brightness of his presence his clouds removed; * hailstones and coals of fire.
 
The LORD also thundered out of heaven, and the Highest gave his thunder; * hailstones and coals of fire.
 
He sent out his arrows, and scattered them; * he cast forth lightnings, and destroyed them.
 
The springs of waters were seen, and the foundations of the round world were discovered, * at thy chiding, O LORD, at the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure.
 
He sent down from on high to fetch me, * and took me out of many waters.
 
He delivered me from my strongest enemy, and from them which hate me; * for they were too mighty for me
 
They came upon me in the day of my trouble; * but the LORD was my upholder.
 
He brought me forth also into a place of liberty; * he brought me forth, even because he had a favour unto me.
 

 
vs 21 The LORD rewarded me after my righteous dealing, * according to the cleanness of my hands did he recompense me.
 
Because I have kept the ways of the LORD, * and have not forsaken my God, as the wicked doth.
 
For I have an eye unto all his laws, * and will not cast out his commandments from me.
 
I was also uncorrupt before him, * and eschewed mine own wickedness.
 
Therefore the LORD rewarded me after my righteous dealing, * and according unto the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
 
With the holy thou shalt be holy, * and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect.
 
With the clean thou shalt be clean, * and with the froward thou shalt be froward.
 
For thou shalt save the people that are in adversity, * and shalt bring down the high looks of the proud.
 
Thou also shalt light my candle; * the LORD my God shall make my darkness to be light.
 
For in thee I shall discomfit an host of men, * and with the help of my God I shall leap over the wall.
 
The way of God is an undefiled way: * the word of the LORD also is tried in the fire; he is the defender of all them that put their trust in him.
 
For who is God, but the LORD? * or who hath any strength, except our God?
 
It is God that girdeth me with strength of war, * and maketh my way perfect.
 
He maketh my feet like harts' feet, * and setteth me up on high.
 
He teacheth mine hands to fight, * and mine arms shall bend even a bow of steel.
 

 
vs 36 Thou hast given me the defence of thy salvation; * thy right hand also shall hold me up, and thy loving correction shall make me great.
 
Thou shalt make room enough under me for to go, * that my footsteps shall not slide.
 
I will follow upon mine enemies, and overtake them; * neither will I turn again till I have destroyed them.
 
I will smite them, that they shall not be able to stand, * but fall under my feet.
 
Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; * thou shalt throw down mine enemies under me.
 
Thou hast made mine enemies also to turn their backs upon me, * and I shall destroy them that hate me.
 
They shall cry, but there shall be none to help them; * yea, even unto the LORD shall they cry, but he shall not hear them.
 
I will beat them as small as the dust before the wind: * I will cast them out as the clay in the streets.
 
Thou shalt deliver me from the strivings of the people, * and thou shalt make me the head of the nations; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
 
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; * the strangers shall feign obedience unto me.
 
The strangers shall fail, * and come trembling out of their strongholds.
 
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my strong helper, * and praised be the God of my salvation;
 
Even the God that seeth that I be avenged, * and subdueth the people unto me.
 
It is he that delivereth me from my cruel enemies, and setteth me up above mine adversaries: * thou shalt rid me from the wicked man.
 
For this cause will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the Gentiles, * and sing praises unto thy Name.
 
Great prosperity giveth he unto his King, * and showeth loving-kindness unto David his anointed, and unto his seed for evermore.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers

 

The First Lesson (First Set of Propers)


Isaiah 61


The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord; men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

 

The First Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


*Deuteronomy 4:5-13, 32-40


Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers

 

The Second Lesson (First Set of Propers)


St. Luke 4:16-32


And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way, And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

 

The Second Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


Ephesians 2


And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.



 

The Collect

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

O GOD, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



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