Daily Office - Jan 14

Psalm 2
Why are the nations in tumult, and why do the peoples devise a vain plot?
The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his anointed:

‘Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us.’

He who dwells in heaven shall laugh them to scorn;
the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury:
‘Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.’

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord;
he said to me: ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.

‘Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.
‘You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’

Now therefore be wise, O kings; be prudent, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and with trembling kiss his feet,
lest he be angry and you perish from the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all they who take refuge in him.

Psalm 110
The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’
May the Lord stretch forth the sceptre of your power;
rule from Zion in the midst of your enemies.

‘Noble are you on this day of your birth;
on the holy mountain, from the womb of the dawn the dew of your new birth is upon you.’

The Lord has sworn and will not retract:
‘You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’

The king at your right hand, O Lord, shall smite down kings in the day of his wrath.
In all his majesty, he shall judge among the nations, smiting heads over all the wide earth.
He shall drink from the brook beside the way;
therefore shall he lift high his head.

Amos 1
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
And he said:
The Lord roars from Zion,
   and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds wither,
   and the top of Carmel dries up.

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Damascus,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they have threshed Gilead
   with threshing-sledges of iron.
So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael,
   and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
I will break the gate-bars of Damascus,
   and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,
and the one who holds the sceptre from Beth-eden;
   and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir,says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Gaza,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they carried into exile entire communities,
   to hand them over to Edom.
So I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,
   fire that shall devour its strongholds.
I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,
   and the one who holds the sceptre from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
   and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord God.

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom,
   and did not remember the covenant of kinship.
So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,
   fire that shall devour its strongholds.

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Edom,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because he pursued his brother with the sword
   and cast off all pity;
he maintained his anger perpetually,
   and kept his wrath for ever.
So I will send a fire on Teman,
   and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
   and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead
   in order to enlarge their territory.
So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah,
   fire that shall devour its strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
   with a storm on the day of the whirlwind;
then their king shall go into exile,
   he and his officials together, says the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1.1-17
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

The Collect
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.