Lectionary Readings Book of Common Prayer - 1979 Sunday, September-09-2012 Proper 18

The Collect

Proper 18
Grant us, O Lord, we pray thee, to trust in you with all our heart; for, as thou dost alway resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so thou dost not forsake those who make their boast of thy mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Preface of the Lord's Day

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 35:4-7
⁴Say to those who are fearful-hearted, " Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." ⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. ⁶Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. ⁷The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 146

Lauda, anima mea
1Hallelujah!
     Praise the LORD, O my soul! *
     I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
     I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
2Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
     for there is no help in them.
3When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
     and in that day their thoughts perish.
4Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
     whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
     who keeps his promise for ever;
6Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
     and food to those who hunger.
7The LORD sets the prisoners free;
     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *
     the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
8The LORD loves the righteous;
     the LORD cares for the stranger; *
     he sustains the orphan and widow,
     but frustrates the way of the wicked.
9The LORD shall reign for ever, *
     your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
     Hallelujah!

- OR -

Psalm 146:4-9

4Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
     whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
     who keeps his promise for ever;
6Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
     and food to those who hunger.
7The LORD sets the prisoners free;
     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *
     the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
8The LORD loves the righteous;
     the LORD cares for the stranger; *
     he sustains the orphan and widow,
     but frustrates the way of the wicked.
9The LORD shall reign for ever, *
     your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
     Hallelujah!

New Testament Reading

James 1:17-27
¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ¹⁸Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. ¹⁹So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²²But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. ²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

Mark 7:31-37
³¹Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. ³²Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. ³³And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." ³⁵Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." -- NKJV