Tuesday, July 30 | St. Andrew's Anglican Church

Psalm 61

¹Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
²from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
    Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
³for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.
⁴Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
⁵For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
⁶Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
⁷May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
⁸So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.

Psalm 62

¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
²He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
³How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
    They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse.
⁵For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
⁸Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us.
⁹Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
    in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
¹¹Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
    that power belongs to God,
¹²and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
    For you will render to a man
    according to his work.

Psalm 68

¹God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
²As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
³But the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!
⁴Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
    his name is the Lord;
    exult before him!
⁵Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
⁶God settles the solitary in a home;
    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
⁷O God, when you went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness,
⁸the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
⁹Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰your flock found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
¹¹The Lord gives the word;
    the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹²“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
    The women at home divide the spoil—
¹³though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
    the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on Zalmon.
¹⁵O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God desired for his abode,
    yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
¹⁷The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
¹⁸You ascended on high,
    leading a host of captives in your train
    and receiving gifts among men,
    even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;
    God is our salvation.
²⁰Our God is a God of salvation,
    and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
²¹But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
²²The Lord said,
    “I will bring them back from Bashan,
    I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³that you may strike your feet in their blood,
    that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
²⁴Your procession is seen, O God,
    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵the singers in front, the musicians last,
    between them virgins playing tambourines:
²⁶“Bless God in the great congregation,
    the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
²⁷There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in their throng,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
²⁸Summon your power, O God,
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings shall bear gifts to you.
³⁰Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
    Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.
³¹Nobles shall come from Egypt;
    Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
³²O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord,
³³to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose power is in the skies.
³⁵Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
    Blessed be God!

Judges 2:1-5, 11-23

¹Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,² and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?³So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” ⁴As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord. … ¹¹And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. ¹²And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. ¹⁵Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. ¹⁶Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. ²⁰So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, ²¹I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²²in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” ²³So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Romans 16:17-27

¹⁷I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. ¹⁸For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. ²²I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. ²³Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. ²⁵Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages ²⁶but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Matthew 27:32-44

³²As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.