As Written in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Today is Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The liturgical color of the day is PURPLE
The Psalter
Psalm 94
The Ninety- Fourth Psalm
Deus ultionum.
O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth, * thou God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself.
Arise, thou Judge of the world, * and reward the proud after their deserving.
LORD, how long shall the ungodly, * how long shall the ungodly triumph?
How long shall all wicked doers speak so disdainfully, * and make such proud boasting?
They smite down thy people, O LORD, * and trouble thine heritage.
They murder the widow and the stranger, * and put the fatherless to death.
And yet they say, Tush, the LORD shall not see, * neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
Take heed, ye unwise among the people: * O ye fools, when will ye understand?
He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? * or he that made the eye, shall he not see?
Or he that instructeth the heathen, * it is he that teacheth man knowledge; shall not he punish?
The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, * that they are but vain.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, * and teachest him in thy law;
That thou mayest give him patience in time of adversity, * until the pit be digged up for the ungodly.
For the LORD will not fail his people; * neither will he forsake his inheritance;
Until righteousness turn again unto judgment: * all such as are true in heart shall follow it.
Who will rise up with me against the wicked? * or who will take my part against the evil doers?
If the LORD had not helped me, * it had not failed, but my soul had been put to silence.
But when I said, My foot hath slipt; * thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart, * thy comforts have refreshed my soul.
Wilt thou have any thing to do with the throne of wickedness, * which imagineth mischief as a law?
They gather them together against the soul of the righteous, * and condemn the innocent blood.
But the LORD is my refuge, * and my God is the strength of my confidence.
vs 23 He shall recompense them their wickedness, and destroy them in their own malice; * yea, the LORD our God shall destroy them.
The First Lesson
Malachi 2:1-10
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
The Second Lesson
I Peter 2:11-17
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
The Collect
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity
O LORD, we beseech thee, absolve thy people from their offences; that through thy bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the bands of those sins, which by our frailty we have committed. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.