Evening Prayer Readings
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

The First Lesson
The Second Lesson
The Collect
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The Psalter

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers     Third Set of Propers



 

The Psalter (First Set of Propers)


Psalm 26


The Twenty-Sixth Psalm

Judica me, Domine.


BE thou my Judge, O LORD, for I have walked innocently: * my trust hath been also in the LORD, therefore shall I not fall.
 
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; * try out my reins and my heart.
 
For thy loving-kindness is ever before mine eyes; * and I will walk in thy truth.
 
I have not dwelt with vain persons; * neither will I have fellowship with the deceitful.
 
I have hated the congregation of the wicked; * and will not sit among the ungodly.
 
I will wash my hands in innocency, O LORD; * and so will I go to thine altar;
 
That I may show the voice of thanksgiving, * and tell of all thy wondrous works.
 
LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, * and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
 
O shut not up my soul with the sinners, * nor my life with the blood-thirsty;
 
In whose hands is wickedness, * and their right hand is full of gifts.
 
But as for me, I will walk innocently: * O deliver me, and be merciful unto me.
 
My foot standeth right: * I will praise the LORD in the congregations.


Psalm 128


The One Hundred Twenty Eighth Psalm

Beates omnes.


BLESSED are all they that fear the LORD, * and walk in his ways.
 
For thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands: * O well is thee, and happy shalt thou be.
 
Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine * upon the walls of thine house;
 
Thy children like the olive-branches * round about thy table.
 
Lo, thus shall the man be blessed * that feareth the LORD.
 
The LORD from out of Sion shall so bless thee, * that thou shalt see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life long;
 
Yea, that thou shalt see thy children's children, * and peace upon Israel.



 

The Psalter (Second Set of Propers)


Psalm 3


The Thirty-Fourth Psalm

Benedicam Dominum.


I WILL alway give thanks unto the LORD; * his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
 
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD; * the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
 
O praise the LORD with me, * and let us magnify his Name together.
 
I sought the LORD, and he heard me; * yea, he delivered me out of all my fear.
 
They had an eye unto him, and were lightened; * and their faces were not ashamed.
 
Lo, the poor crieth, and the LORD heareth him; * yea, and saveth him out of all his troubles.
 
The angel of the LORD tarrieth round about them that fear him; * and delivereth them.
 
O taste, and see, how gracious the LORD is: * blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
 
O fear the LORD, ye that are his saints; * for they that fear him lack nothing.
 
The lions do lack, and suffer hunger; * but they who seek the LORD shall want no manner of thing that is good.
 
Come, ye children, and hearken unto me; * I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
 
What man is he that lusteth to live, * and would fain see good days?
 
Keep thy tongue from evil, * and thy lips, that they speak no guile.
 
Eschew evil, and do good; * seek peace, and ensue it.
 
The eyes of the LORD are over the righteous, * and his ears are open unto their prayers.
 
The countenance of the LORD is against them that do evil, * to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
 
The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth them, * and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
 
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart, * and will save such as be of an humble spirit.
 
Great are the troubles of the righteous; * but the LORD delivereth him out of all.
 
He keepeth all his bones, * so that not one of them is broken.
 
But misfortune shall slay the ungodly; * and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
 
The LORD delivereth the souls of his servants; * and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute.



 

The Psalter (Third Set of Propers)


Psalm 84


The Eighty-Fourth Psalm

Quam dilecta!


O HOW amiable are thy dwellings, * thou LORD of hosts!
 
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the LORD; * my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
 
Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young; * even thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
 
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; * they will be alway praising thee.
 
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; * in whose heart are thy ways.
 
Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well; * and the pools are filled with water.
 
They will go from strength to strength, * and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion.
 
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; * hearken, O God of Jacob.
 
Behold, O God our defender, * and look upon the face of thine anointed.
 
For one day in thy courts * is better than a thousand.
 
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, * than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
 
For the LORD God is a light and defence; * the LORD will give grace and worship; and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.
 
O LORD God of hosts, * blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers     Third Set of Propers

 

The First Lesson (First Set of Propers)


Ecclesiastes 5:8


If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

 

The First Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


Joel 2:21-27


Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

 

The First Lesson (Third Set of Propers)


I Kings 8:22-30, 54-63


And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers     Third Set of Propers

 

The Second Lesson (First Set of Propers)


I Timothy 6:1-10


Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 

The Second Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


St. Matthew 6:24


No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

The Second Lesson (Third Set of Propers)


Acts 18:1-17


After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.



 

The Collect

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

KEEP, we beseech thee O Lord, thy church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



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