Morning Prayer Readings
First Sunday in Advent

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 50


The Fiftieth Psalm

Deus deorum.


THE LORD, even the Most Mighty God, hath spoken, * and called the world, from the rising up of the sun unto the going down thereof.
 
Out of Sion hath God appeared * in perfect beauty.
 
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; * there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him.
 
He shall call the heaven from above, * and the earth, that he may judge his people.
 
Gather my saints together unto me; * those that have made a covenant with me with sacrifice.
 
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; * for God is Judge himself.
 
Hear, O my people, and I will speak; * I myself will testify against thee, O Israel; for I am God, even thy God.
 
I will not reprove thee because of thy sacrifices; * as for thy burnt-offerings, they are alway before me.
 
I will take no bullock out of thine house, * nor he-goats out of thy folds.
 
For all the beasts of the forest are mine, * and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills.
 
I know all the fowls upon the mountains, * and the wild beasts of the field are in my sight.
 
If I be hungry, I will not tell thee; * for the whole world is mine, and all that is therein.
 
Thinkest thou that I will eat bulls' flesh, * and drink the blood of goats?
 
Offer unto God thanksgiving, * and pay thy vows unto the Most Highest.
 
And call upon me in the time of trouble; * so will I hear thee, and thou shalt praise me.
 
But unto the ungodly saith God, * Why dost thou preach my laws, and takest my covenant in thy mouth;
 
Whereas thou hatest to be reformed, * and hast cast my words behind thee?
 
When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst unto him; * and hast been partaker with the adulterers.
 
Thou hast let thy mouth speak wickedness, * and with thy tongue thou hast set forth deceit.
 
Thou sattest and spakest against thy brother; * yea, and hast slandered thine own mother's son.
 
These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue, and thou thoughtest wickedly, that I am even such a one as thyself; * but I will reprove thee, and set before thee the things that thou hast done.
 
O consider this, ye that forget God, * lest I pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you.
 
Whoso offereth me thanks and praise, he honoureth me; * and to him that ordereth his way aright, will I show the salvation of God.



 

The Psalter (Second Set of Propers)


Psalm 4


The Forty-Sixth Psalm

Deus noster refugium.


GOD is our hope and strength, * a very present help in trouble.
 
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, * and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;
 
Though the waters thereof rage and swell, * and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.
 
There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God; * the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most Highest.
 
God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed; * God shall help her, and that right early.
 
The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are moved; * but God hath showed his voice, and the earth shall melt away.
 
The LORD of hosts is with us; * the God of Jacob is our refuge.
 
O come hither, and behold the works of the LORD, * what destruction he hath brought upon the earth.
 
He maketh wars to cease in all the world; * he breaketh the bow, and knappeth the spear in sunder, and burneth the chariots in the fire.
 
Be still then, and know that I am God: * I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
 
The LORD of hosts is with us; * the God of Jacob is our refuge.


Psalm 9


The Ninety-Seventh Psalm

Dominus regnavit.


THE LORD is King, the earth may be glad thereof; * yea, the multitude of the isles may be glad thereof.
 
Clouds and darkness are round about him: * righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his seat.
 
There shall go a fire before him, * and burn up his enemies on every side.
 
His lightnings gave shine unto the world: * the earth saw it, and was afraid.
 
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD; * at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
 
The heavens have declared his righteousness, * and all the peoples have seen his glory.
 
Confounded be all they that worship carved images, and that delight in vain gods: * worship him, all ye gods.
 
Sion heard of it, and rejoiced; and the daughters of Judah were glad, * because of thy judgments, O LORD.
 
For thou, LORD, art higher than all that are in the earth: * thou art exalted far above all gods.
 
O ye that love the LORD, see that ye hate the thing which is evil: * the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints; he shall deliver them from the hand of the ungodly.
 
There is sprung up a light for the righteous, * and joyful gladness for such as are true-hearted.
 
Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; * and give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers

 

The First Lesson (First Set of Propers)


Malachi 3:1-6, 4:4-6


Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

The First Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


*Isaiah 28:14-22


Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.



 

First Set of Propers     Second Set of Propers

 

The Second Lesson (First Set of Propers)


St. Luke 1:5-25


There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

 

The Second Lesson (Second Set of Propers)


Hebrews 12:14


Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.



 

The Collect

The First Sunday in Advent

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.



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