Daily Office - July 2

Psalm 106
Alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, for his faithfulness endures for ever.
Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord or show forth all his praise?
Blessed are those who observe what is right and always do what is just.
Remember me, O Lord, in the favour you bear for your people;
visit me in the day of your salvation;
That I may see the prosperity of your chosen and rejoice in the gladness of your people, and exult with your inheritance.

We have sinned like our forebears; we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
In Egypt they did not consider your wonders, nor remember the abundance of your faithful love;
they rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
But he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his power to be known.
He rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up;
so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness.
He saved them from the adversary’s hand and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them;
there was not one of them left.
Then they believed his words and sang aloud his praise.

But soon they forgot his deeds and would not wait for his counsel.
A craving seized them in the wilderness, and they put God to the test in the desert.
He gave them their desire, but sent a wasting sickness among them.
They grew jealous of Moses in the camp and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
So the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
A fire was kindled in their company; the flame burnt up the wicked.
They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped the molten image;
Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that feeds on hay.
They forgot God their saviour, who had done such great things in Egypt,
Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham and fearful things at the Red Sea.
So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach,
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.

Then they scorned the Promised Land and would not believe his word,
But murmured in their tents and would not heed the voice of the Lord.
So he lifted his hand against them and swore to overthrow them in the wilderness,
To disperse their descendants among the nations, and to scatter them throughout the lands.
They joined themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
They provoked him to anger with their evil deeds and a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded and so the plague was stayed.
This was counted to him for righteousness throughout all generations for ever.

They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses suffered for their sake;
For they so embittered his spirit that he spoke rash words with his lips.
They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them.
They mingled with the nations and learned to follow their ways,
So that they worshipped their idols, which became to them a snare.
Their own sons and daughters they sacrificed to evil spirits.
They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters,
Which they offered to the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood.
Thus were they polluted by their actions, and in their wanton deeds went whoring after other gods.

Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance.
He gave them over to the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.
So their enemies oppressed them and put them in subjection under their hand.
Many a time did he deliver them, but they rebelled through their own devices and were brought down through their wickedness.
Nevertheless, he saw their adversity, when he heard their lamentation.
He remembered his covenant with them and relented according to the greatness of his faithful love.
He made them also to be pitied by all who had taken them captive.

Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting;
and let all the people say, Amen. Alleluia.

Ezekiel 1.15-2.2
As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all round. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal, spread out above their heads. Under the dome their wings were stretched out straight, one towards another; and each of the creatures had two wings covering its body. When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stopped, they let down their wings. And there came a voice from above the dome over their heads; when they stopped, they let down their wings.

And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human form. Upwards from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all round; and downwards from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendour all round. Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendour all round. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.
He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.

2 Corinthians 1.15-2.4
Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double favour; I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’ at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been ‘Yes and No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen’, to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment.

But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth. I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith.

So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you. For I wrote to you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.