Morning Prayer, Rite Two for Saturday, September 07, 2024

September 07, 2024

Saturday In The Week Of Proper 17

Isaiah 57:15

Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, “I dwell in the high and holy place and also with the one who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory and Psalter

Officiant: Lord, open our lips.
People: And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Alleluia.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

Psalm 95:1-7

Venite

Come, let us sing to the Lord; *

let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *

and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, *

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *

and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, *

and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *

and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *

Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Psalm or Psalms Appointed

Psalm 30

I will exalt you, O LORD,

because you have lifted me up *

and have not let my enemies triumph over me.

O LORD my God, I cried out to you, *

and you restored me to health.

You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead; *

you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.

Sing to the LORD, you servants of his; *

give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.

For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, *

his favor for a lifetime.

Weeping may spend the night, *

but joy comes in the morning.

While I felt secure, I said,

"I shall never be disturbed. *

You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains."

Then you hid your face, *

and I was filled with fear.

I cried to you, O LORD; *

I pleaded with the Lord, saying,

"What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the Pit? *

will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me; *

O LORD, be my helper."

You have turned my wailing into dancing; *

you have put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy.

Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; *

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 32

Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *

and whose sin is put away!

Happy are they to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, *

and in whose spirit there is no guile!

While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *

because of my groaning all day long.

For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *

my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *

and did not conceal my guilt.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." *

Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; *

when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

You are my hiding-place;

you preserve me from trouble; *

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you hould go; *

I will guide you with my eye.

Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *

who must be fitted with bit and bridle,

or else they will not stay near you."

Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *

but mercy embraces those who trust in the LORD.

Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the LORD; *

shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Lessons

Job 22:1-4, 21-23:7

Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Job Replies: The Wicked Often Go Unpunished

Then Job answered:

“Listen carefully to my words,
    and let this be your consolation.
Bear with me, and I will speak;
    then after I have spoken, mock on.
As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
    Why should I not be impatient?
Look at me, and be appalled,
    and lay your hand upon your mouth.
When I think of it I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
Why do the wicked live on,
    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their children are established in their presence,
    and their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
    and no rod of God is upon them.
Their bull breeds without fail;
    their cow calves and never miscarries.
They send out their little ones like a flock,
    and their children dance around.
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
    and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in prosperity,
    and in peace they go down to Sheol.
They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We do not desire to know your ways.
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement?
    The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
    How often does calamity come upon them?
    How often does God distribute pains in his anger?
How often are they like straw before the wind,
    and like chaff that the storm carries away?
You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’
    Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it.
Let their own eyes see their destruction,
    and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
For what do they care for their household after them,
    when the number of their months is cut off?
Will any teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he judges those that are on high?
One dies in full prosperity,
    being wholly at ease and secure,
his loins full of milk
    and the marrow of his bones moist.
Another dies in bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted of good.
They lie down alike in the dust,
    and the worms cover them.

“Oh, I know your thoughts,
    and your schemes to wrong me.
For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’
Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony,
that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity,
    and are rescued in the day of wrath?
Who declares their way to their face,
    and who repays them for what they have done?
When they are carried to the grave,
    a watch is kept over their tomb.
The clods of the valley are sweet to them;
    everyone will follow after,
    and those who went before are innumerable.
How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

“Can a mortal be of use to God?
    Can even the wisest be of service to him?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
    or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
Is it for your piety that he reproves you,
    and enters into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason,
    and stripped the naked of their clothing.
You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
The powerful possess the land,
    and the favored live in it.
You have sent widows away empty-handed,
    and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.
Therefore snares are around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
or darkness so that you cannot see;
    a flood of water covers you.

“Is not God high in the heavens?
    See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through the deep darkness?
Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the dome of heaven.’
Will you keep to the old way
    that the wicked have trod?
They were snatched away before their time;
    their foundation was washed away by a flood.
They said to God, ‘Leave us alone,’
    and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but the plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.
The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent laugh them to scorn,
saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left, the fire has consumed.’

“Agree with God, and be at peace;
    in this way good will come to you.
Receive instruction from his mouth,
    and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored,
    if you remove unrighteousness from your tents,
if you treat gold like dust,
    and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed,
and if the Almighty is your gold
    and your precious silver,
then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
    and lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will pay your vows.
You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and light will shine on your ways.
When others are humiliated, you say it is pride;
    for he saves the humble.
He will deliver even those who are guilty;
    they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.”

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Bitter

Then Job answered:

“Today also my complaint is bitter;
    his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my case before him,
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me,
    and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; but he would give heed to me.
There an upright person could reason with him,
    and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.