Office of Readings

If you have already recited the Invitatory Psalm today, you should use the alternative opening.

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

O God, take pity on us and bless us, and let your face shine upon us,
so that your ways may be known across the world, and all nations learn of your salvation.

Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice, for you judge the peoples with fairness and you guide the nations of the earth.

Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has produced its harvest: may God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us, may the whole world revere him.

Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 38 (39)
A prayer in sickness
I said, “I will watch my ways, I will try not to sin in my speech. I will set a guard on my mouth, for as long as my enemies are standing against me.” I stayed quiet and dumb, spoke neither evil nor good, but my pain was renewed. My heart grew hot within me, and fire blazed in my thoughts. Then I spoke out loud: “Lord, make me know my end. Let me know the number of my days, so that I know how short my life is to be.” All the length of my days is a handsbreadth or two, the expanse of my life is as nothing before you. For in your sight all men are nothingness: man passes away, like a shadow. Nothingness, although he is busy: he builds up treasure, but who will collect it? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 38 (39)

A prayer in sickness

I said, “I will watch my ways,
I will try not to sin in my speech.
I will set a guard on my mouth,
for as long as my enemies are standing against me.”

I stayed quiet and dumb, spoke neither evil nor good,
but my pain was renewed.
My heart grew hot within me,
and fire blazed in my thoughts.
Then I spoke out loud:
“Lord, make me know my end.
Let me know the number of my days,
so that I know how short my life is to be.”

All the length of my days is a handsbreadth or two,
the expanse of my life is as nothing before you.
For in your sight all men are nothingness:
man passes away, like a shadow.
Nothingness, although he is busy:
he builds up treasure, but who will collect it?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 38 (39)
What, now, can I look forward to, Lord? My hope is in you. Rescue me from all my sins, do not make me a thing for fools to laugh at. I have sworn to be dumb, I will not open my mouth: for it is at your hands that I am suffering. Aim your blows away from me, for I am crushed by the weight of your hand. You rebuke and chastise us for our sins. Like the moth you consume all we desire – for all men are nothingness. Listen, Lord, to my prayer: turn your ear to my cries. Do not be deaf to my weeping, for I come as a stranger before you, a wanderer like my fathers before me. Turn away from me, give me respite, before I leave this world, before I am no more. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 38 (39)

What, now, can I look forward to, Lord?
My hope is in you.
Rescue me from all my sins,
do not make me a thing for fools to laugh at.
I have sworn to be dumb, I will not open my mouth:
for it is at your hands that I am suffering.

Aim your blows away from me,
for I am crushed by the weight of your hand.
You rebuke and chastise us for our sins.
Like the moth you consume all we desire
– for all men are nothingness.

Listen, Lord, to my prayer:
turn your ear to my cries.
Do not be deaf to my weeping,
for I come as a stranger before you,
a wanderer like my fathers before me.
Turn away from me, give me respite,
before I leave this world,
before I am no more.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 51 (52)
Against calumny
Why do you take pride in your malice, you expert in evil-doing? All day long you plan your traps, your tongue is sharp as a razor – you master of deceit! You have chosen malice over kindness; you speak lies rather than the truth; your tongue is in love with every deceit. For all this, in the end God will destroy you. He will tear you out and expel you from your dwelling, uproot you from the land of the living. The upright will see and be struck with awe: they will deride the evil-doer. “Here is the man who did not make God his refuge, but put his hope in the abundance of his riches and in the power of his stratagems.” But I flourish like an olive in the palace of God. I hope in the kindness of God, for ever, and through all ages. I shall praise you for all time for what you have done. I shall put my hope in your name and in its goodness in the sight of your chosen ones. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 51 (52)

Against calumny

Why do you take pride in your malice,
you expert in evil-doing?
All day long you plan your traps,
your tongue is sharp as a razor –
you master of deceit!
You have chosen malice over kindness;
you speak lies rather than the truth;
your tongue is in love with every deceit.

For all this, in the end God will destroy you.
He will tear you out and expel you from your dwelling,
uproot you from the land of the living.
The upright will see and be struck with awe:
they will deride the evil-doer.
“Here is the man who did not make God his refuge,
but put his hope in the abundance of his riches
and in the power of his stratagems.”

But I flourish like an olive in the palace of God.
I hope in the kindness of God,
for ever, and through all ages.
I shall praise you for all time for what you have done.
I shall put my hope in your name and in its goodness
in the sight of your chosen ones.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Reading	Isaiah 25:6-26:6 ©
On this mountain, the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so. That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain. Moab is trodden down where he stands as straw is trodden in the dung pit; and there he stretches out his hands like a swimmer stretching out his hands to swim. But the Lord curbs his pride and whatever his hands attempt. Your arrogant, lofty walls he destroys, he overthrows, he flings them in the dust. That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; to guard us he has set wall and rampart about us. Open the gates! Let the upright nation come in, she, the faithful one whose mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace, because she trusts in you. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock; he has brought low those who lived high up in the steep citadel; he brings it down, brings it down to the ground, flings it down in the dust: the feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor trample on it.

Reading

On this mountain,
the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us;
for the hand of the Lord
rests on this mountain.
Moab is trodden down where he stands
as straw is trodden in the dung pit;
and there he stretches out his hands
like a swimmer stretching out his hands to swim.
But the Lord curbs his pride
and whatever his hands attempt.
Your arrogant, lofty walls
he destroys, he overthrows,
he flings them in the dust.

That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
to guard us he has set
wall and rampart about us.
Open the gates! Let the upright nation come in,
she, the faithful one
whose mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace,
because she trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord is the everlasting Rock;
he has brought low those who lived high up
in the steep citadel;
he brings it down, brings it down to the ground,
flings it down in the dust:
the feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor
trample on it.

Reading	St Augustine's commentary on psalm 109
God's promises are given to us through the Son
God decreed a time for making promises and a time for the promises to be fulfilled. The time for making promises was the time of the prophets, ending with John the Baptist, the last prophet. From then until the end is the time for the fulfilment of promises. God is faithful. He has made himself our debtor, not by receiving anything from us but by promising us so much. The promise alone was not enough for him: he wanted it in writing, so that he could be held to it, practically entering into a contract with us that listed the promises he was making. In that way, when he began to fulfil his promises, we could see the order of their fulfilment by looking in Scripture. Therefore the time of the prophets was (as I have said so often) the time of making promises. He promised us eternal salvation and an unending life of blessedness with the angels, and an imperishable inheritance, the joy of seeing his face, a dwelling-place with him in heaven, and the fear of death removed from us through the resurrection. This is, if you like, his ultimate promise. We look forward to it, and when we reach it, we will want nothing more. But as to how this final end is to be reached, he has also told us in promises and prophecies. He has promised to men that they will be like God; to mortals he has promised immortality; to sinners, righteousness; to the lowly, glory. Indeed, brethren, because what God promised seemed incredible to men – that from mortality, decay, weakness, lowliness, dust and ashes they should become equals of the angels of God – he did not only sign a contract with them to convince them. He sent, not just any prince, not just any angel or archangel, but his only Son. The road by which he was to lead us to the end he had promised us – through his Son he would show us that road. Even so, it was not enough for God to send his Son to point out the way – he made his Son the way itself, so that we can go on our journey guided by him as he walks along his own way. So the only Son of God was to come to men, to take on humanity, and thus to die, to ascend to heaven and sit at the right hand of the father, and so to fulfil what he had promised among the nations. After that promise to the nations had been fulfilled, he would fulfil his other promise, to come, to demand the return of what he had given, to separate the vessels of anger from the vessels of mercy, to give the wicked what he had threatened and the righteous what he had promised. All this had to be prophesied and foretold. It had to have its coming announced. It could not come suddenly and unexpectedly, causing terror and alarm: people had to be awaiting it with faith.

Reading

St Augustine's commentary on psalm 109

God's promises are given to us through the Son

God decreed a time for making promises and a time for the promises to be fulfilled. The time for making promises was the time of the prophets, ending with John the Baptist, the last prophet. From then until the end is the time for the fulfilment of promises.
God is faithful. He has made himself our debtor, not by receiving anything from us but by promising us so much. The promise alone was not enough for him: he wanted it in writing, so that he could be held to it, practically entering into a contract with us that listed the promises he was making. In that way, when he began to fulfil his promises, we could see the order of their fulfilment by looking in Scripture. Therefore the time of the prophets was (as I have said so often) the time of making promises.
He promised us eternal salvation and an unending life of blessedness with the angels, and an imperishable inheritance, the joy of seeing his face, a dwelling-place with him in heaven, and the fear of death removed from us through the resurrection. This is, if you like, his ultimate promise. We look forward to it, and when we reach it, we will want nothing more. But as to how this final end is to be reached, he has also told us in promises and prophecies.
He has promised to men that they will be like God; to mortals he has promised immortality; to sinners, righteousness; to the lowly, glory.
Indeed, brethren, because what God promised seemed incredible to men – that from mortality, decay, weakness, lowliness, dust and ashes they should become equals of the angels of God – he did not only sign a contract with them to convince them. He sent, not just any prince, not just any angel or archangel, but his only Son. The road by which he was to lead us to the end he had promised us – through his Son he would show us that road.
Even so, it was not enough for God to send his Son to point out the way – he made his Son the way itself, so that we can go on our journey guided by him as he walks along his own way.
So the only Son of God was to come to men, to take on humanity, and thus to die, to ascend to heaven and sit at the right hand of the father, and so to fulfil what he had promised among the nations. After that promise to the nations had been fulfilled, he would fulfil his other promise, to come, to demand the return of what he had given, to separate the vessels of anger from the vessels of mercy, to give the wicked what he had threatened and the righteous what he had promised.
All this had to be prophesied and foretold. It had to have its coming announced. It could not come suddenly and unexpectedly, causing terror and alarm: people had to be awaiting it with faith.

Concluding Prayer
Almighty God, you command us to prepare the way for Christ our Lord. Grant that we may not grow tired and weak but be kept strong by your healing presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

January 2009
Thu 8	Thursday after Epiphany Sunday
Fri 9
Sat 10
Sun 11	The Baptism of the Lord Feast
Mon 12	Monday of week 1 of the year or Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbot
Tue 13	Tuesday of week 1 of the year or Saint Hilary, Bishop, Doctor
Wed 14
Thu 15
Fri 16

Calendar used: Europe - England

Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. For on-line information about other Random House, Inc. books and authors, see the Internet web site at http://www.randomhouse.com.

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