Daily Office - Sept 3

Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher of the Faith, 604

Psalm 5
Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my lamentation.
Hearken to the voice of my crying, my King and my God,
for to you I make my prayer.
In the morning, Lord, you will hear my voice;
early in the morning I make my appeal to you, and look up.
For you are the God who takes no pleasure in wickedness;
no evil can dwell with you.
The boastful cannot stand in your sight;
you hate all those that work wickedness.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful the Lord will abhor.
But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy,
I will come into your house;
I will bow down towards your holy temple in awe of you.
Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness,
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before my face.
For there is no truth in their mouth,
in their heart is destruction,
their throat is an open sepulchre,
and they flatter with their tongue.
Punish them, O God;
let them fall through their own devices.
Because of their many transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them sing out their joy for ever.
You will shelter them,
so that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
and with your favour you will defend them as with a shield.

Psalm 6
O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath;
neither chasten me in your fierce anger.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak;
Lord, heal me, for my bones are racked.
My soul also shakes with terror;
how long, O Lord, how long?
Turn again, O Lord, and deliver my soul;
save me for your loving mercy’s sake.
For in death no one remembers you;
and who can give you thanks in the grave?
I am weary with my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow and flood my bed with my tears.
My eyes are wasted with grief and worn away because of all my enemies.
Depart from me, all you that do evil,
for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord will receive my prayer.
All my enemies shall be put to shame and confusion;
they shall suddenly turn back in their shame.

Psalm 8
O Lord our governor, how glorious is your name in all the world!
Your majesty above the heavens is praised out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
You have founded a stronghold against your foes, that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
What is man, that you should be mindful of him; the son of man, that you should seek him out?
You have made him little lower than the angels and crown him with glory and honour.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands and put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our governor, how glorious is your name in all the world!

1 Chronicles 13
David consulted with the commanders of the thousands and of the hundreds, with every leader. David said to the whole assembly of Israel, ‘If it seems good to you, and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our kindred who remain in all the land of Israel, including the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasture lands, that they may come together to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us; for we did not turn to it in the days of Saul.’ The whole assembly agreed to do so, for the thing pleased all the people.

 So David assembled all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord, who is enthroned on the cherubim, which is called by his name. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. David and all Israel were dancing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

 When they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God. David was angry because the Lord had burst out against Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. David was afraid of God that day; he said, ‘How can I bring the ark of God into my care?’ So David did not take the ark into his care into the city of David; he took it instead to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

Mark 10.1-16
He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

The Collect
Merciful Father,
who chose your bishop Gregory
to be a servant of the servants of God:
grant that, like him, we may ever long to serve you
by proclaiming your gospel to the nations,
and may ever rejoice to sing your praises;
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.