Daily Office - Mar 19

Joseph of Nazareth

Psalm 25
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame, but let the treacherous be shamed and frustrated.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;
for you have I hoped all the day long.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions, but think on me in your goodness, O Lord, according to your steadfast love.
Gracious and upright is the Lord; therefore shall he teach sinners in the way.
He will guide the humble in doing right and teach his way to the lowly.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For your name’s sake, O Lord, be merciful to my sin, for it is great.
Who are those who fear the Lord?
Them will he teach in the way that they should choose.
Their soul shall dwell at ease and their offspring shall inherit the land.
The hidden purpose of the Lord is for those who fear him and he will show them his covenant.
My eyes are ever looking to the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am alone and brought very low.
The sorrows of my heart have increased;
O bring me out of my distress.
Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin.
Look upon my enemies, for they are many and they bear a violent hatred against me.
O keep my soul and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame, for I have put my trust in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for my hope has been in you.
Deliver Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Psalm 147.1-12
Alleluia.
How good it is to make music for our God, how joyful to honour him with praise.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem and gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up all their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his wisdom is beyond all telling.
The Lord lifts up the poor, but casts down the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God upon the lyre;
Who covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth;
Who makes grass to grow upon the mountains and green plants to serve our needs.
He gives the beasts their food and the young ravens when they cry.
He takes no pleasure in the power of a horse, no delight in human strength;
But the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their trust in his steadfast love.

Isaiah 11.1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
   and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
   the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the spirit of counsel and might,
   the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Matthew 13.54-58
He came to his home town and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said,
‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?’

And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them,
‘Prophets are not without honour except in their own country and in their own house.’

And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

The Collect
God our Father,
who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph the carpenter
to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
give us grace to follow him in faithful obedience to your commands;
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.