Daily Readings: September 20, 2023

Wednesday after the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Morning	Evening
Psalm 72	Psalm 119:73-96
1 Kings 22:1-28 1 Cor. 2:1-13 Matt. 4:18-25

The Collect of the Day

Proper 19

The Sunday closest to September 14

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

I. For those to be ordained

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry

O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

III. For all Christians in their vocation

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

John Coleridge Patteson

Almighty God, who called your faithful servant John Coleridge Patteson and his companions to witness to the gospel, and by their labors and sufferings raised up a people for your own possession: Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your church in every land, that, by the service and sacrifice of many, your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalms

72

Deus, judiciumBCP p. 685

¹Give the King your justice, O God, *and your righteousness to the King’s son;

²That he may rule your people righteously *and the poor with justice.

³That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *and the little hills bring righteousness.

⁴He shall defend the needy among the people; *he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

⁵He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *from one generation to another.

⁶He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *like showers that water the earth.

⁷In his time shall the righteous flourish; *there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

⁸He shall rule from sea to sea, *and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹His foes shall bow down before him, *and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.

¹¹All kings shall bow down before him, *and all the nations do him service.

¹²For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *and the oppressed who has no helper.

¹³He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

¹⁴He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live! and may there be given to him gold from Arabia; *may prayer be made for him always, and may they bless him all the day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain on the earth, growing thick even on the hilltops; *may its fruit flourish like Lebanon, and its grain like grass upon the earth.

¹⁷May his Name remain for ever and be established as long as the sun endures; *may all the nations bless themselves in him and call him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, *who alone does wondrous deeds!

¹⁹And blessed be his glorious Name for ever! *and may all the earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.

Daily Office Readings

1 Kings 22:1-28

A Reading from the First Book of Kings.

¹For three years Aram and Israel continued without war. ²But in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” ⁴He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are; my people are your people, my horses are your horses.” ⁵But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁶Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁷But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” ⁸The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say such a thing.” ⁹Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” ¹⁰Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.” ¹²All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ¹³The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” ¹⁵When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” He answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ¹⁶But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’” ¹⁸The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?” ¹⁹Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him. ²⁰And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, ²¹until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²²‘How?’ the Lord asked him. He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ ²³So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.” ²⁴Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁵Micaiah replied, “You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.” ²⁶The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁷and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.’” ²⁸Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you!”