Year 1, Proper 4, Saturday: Morning Prayer
The First Lesson.The Reader begins
A Reading from Deuteronomy
Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders; but to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out upon you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet; you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am the Lord your God.And when you came to this place, Si'hon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Ba'shan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them; we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gad'ites, and the half-tribe of the Manas'sites.Therefore be careful to do the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all that you do.You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, both he who hews your wood and he who draws your water, that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God makes with you this day; that he may establish you this day as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.Nor is it with you only that I make this sworn covenant, but with him who is not here with us this day as well as with him who stands here with us this day before the Lord our God.”
The Reader concludesThe Word of the Lord.
The Second Lesson.The Reader begins
A Reading from the
Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
It is superfluous for me to write to you about the offering for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedo'nia, saying that Acha'ia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; lest if some Macedo'nians come with me and find that you are not ready, we be humiliated—tosay nothing of you—forbeing so confident.So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren to go on to you before me, and arrange in advance for this gift you have promised, so that it may be ready not as an exaction but as a willing gift.The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.”He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness.You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God; for the rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.Under the test of this service, you will glorify God by your obedience in acknowledging the gospel of Christ, and by the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others; while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God in you.Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
The Reader concludesThe Word of the Lord.
Year 1, Proper 4, Saturday, Morning Prayer
Deuteronomy 29:2–15; 2 Corinthians 9:1–15