Morning Prayer (Matins) | Evening Prayer (Vespers) | Prayer at the Close of Day (Compline)

Proverbs 8:22–36 (Listen)

22   “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work,
    the first of his acts of old.
23   Ages ago I was set up,
    at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24   When there were no depths I was brought forth,
    when there were no springs abounding with water.
25   Before the mountains had been shaped,
    before the hills, I was brought forth,
26   before he had made the earth with its fields,
    or the first of the dust of the world.
27   When he established the heavens, I was there;
    when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28   when he made firm the skies above,
    when he established the fountains of the deep,
29   when he assigned to the sea its limit,
    so that the waters might not transgress his command,
  when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30     then I was beside him, like a master workman,
  and I was daily his delight,
    rejoicing before him always,
31   rejoicing in his inhabited world
    and delighting in the children of man.
32   “And now, O sons, listen to me:
    blessed are those who keep my ways.
33   Hear instruction and be wise,
    and do not neglect it.
34   Blessed is the one who listens to me,
    watching daily at my gates,
    waiting beside my doors.
35   For whoever finds me finds life
    and obtains favor from the LORD,
36   but he who fails to find me injures himself;
    all who hate me love death.”

3 John (Listen)

Greeting

1:1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

Final Greetings

13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

Matthew 12:15–21 (Listen)

God’s Chosen Servant

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

18   “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
    my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
  I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19   He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20   a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
  until he brings justice to victory;
21     and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Morning Psalms

Psalm 56 (Listen)

In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

56:1   Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2   my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
3   When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
4   In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?
5   All day long they injure my cause;
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6   They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
7   For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8   You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
9   Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that God is for me.
10   In God, whose word I praise,
    in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11   in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?
12   I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
13   For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
  that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Psalm 149 (Listen)

Sing to the Lord a New Song

149:1   Praise the LORD!
  Sing to the LORD a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3   Let them praise his name with dancing,
    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.
5   Let the godly exult in glory;
    let them sing for joy on their beds.
6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats
    and two-edged swords in their hands,
7   to execute vengeance on the nations
    and punishments on the peoples,
8   to bind their kings with chains
    and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9   to execute on them the judgment written!
    This is honor for all his godly ones.
  Praise the LORD!

Evening Psalms

Psalm 100 (Listen)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks.

100:1   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2     Serve the LORD with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!
3   Know that the LORD, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4   Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5   For the LORD is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 63 (Listen)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63:1   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
  my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
4   So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.
5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6   when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7   for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8   My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.
9   But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
11   But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.