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

Job 12:1–6 (Listen)

Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This

12:1 Then Job answered and said:

2   “No doubt you are the people,
    and wisdom will die with you.
3   But I have understanding as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know such things as these?
4   I am a laughingstock to my friends;
    I, who called to God and he answered me,
    a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5   In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
    it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6   The tents of robbers are at peace,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
    who bring their god in their hand.

Job 12:13–25 (Listen)

13   “With God are wisdom and might;
    he has counsel and understanding.
14   If he tears down, none can rebuild;
    if he shuts a man in, none can open.
15   If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
    if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16   With him are strength and sound wisdom;
    the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17   He leads counselors away stripped,
    and judges he makes fools.
18   He looses the bonds of kings
    and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19   He leads priests away stripped
    and overthrows the mighty.
20   He deprives of speech those who are trusted
    and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21   He pours contempt on princes
    and loosens the belt of the strong.
22   He uncovers the deeps out of darkness
    and brings deep darkness to light.
23   He makes nations great, and he destroys them;
    he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
24   He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
    and makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25   They grope in the dark without light,
    and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Acts 11:19–30 (Listen)

The Church in Antioch

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

John 8:21–32 (Listen)

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Morning Psalms

Psalm 5 (Listen)

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

5:1   Give ear to my words, O LORD;
    consider my groaning.
2   Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my King and my God,
    for to you do I pray.
3   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
5   The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
    you hate all evildoers.
6   You destroy those who speak lies;
    the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
  I will bow down toward your holy temple
    in the fear of you.
8   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    make your way straight before me.
9   For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is destruction;
  their throat is an open grave;
    they flatter with their tongue.
10   Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them fall by their own counsels;
  because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.
11   But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
  and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.
12   For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 145 (Listen)

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David.

145:1   I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
2   Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.
4   One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9   The LORD is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
12   to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
  [The LORD is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]
14   The LORD upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15   The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16   You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17   The LORD is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18   The LORD is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19   He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20   The LORD preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.
21   My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Evening Psalms

Psalm 82 (Listen)

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

82:1   God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2   “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3   Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4   Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5   They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6   I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
7   nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”
8   Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!

Psalm 29 (Listen)

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

29:1   Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
3   The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the LORD, over many waters.
4   The voice of the LORD is powerful;
    the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
    the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6   He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7   The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
    the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9   The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10   The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
    the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11   May the LORD give strength to his people!
    May the LORD bless his people with peace!