February 9th, 2021

Tuesday of Sexagesima

Collect
Morning Psalm · Ps. 24
First Reading · Job 6:1-13
Evening Psalm · Ps. 25
Second Reading · John 3:1-21

Collect

O God, the Strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Morning Psalm · Ps. 24

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,^[a]
the world and those who dwell therein,
²for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

³Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^[b] Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
⁹Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

Footnotes:

Psalm 24:1 Or and all that fills it
Psalm 24:6 Septuagint, Syriac, and two Hebrew manuscripts; Masoretic Text who seek your face, Jacob

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First Reading · Job 6:1-13

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6 Then Job answered and said:

²“Oh that my vexation were weighed,
    and all my calamity laid in the balances!
³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
    therefore my words have been rash.
⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison;
    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
⁵Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
    or the ox low over his fodder?
⁶Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?^[a]
⁷My appetite refuses to touch them;
    they are as food that is loathsome to me.^[b]

⁸“Oh that I might have my request,
    and that God would fulfill my hope,
⁹that it would please God to crush me,
    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
¹⁰This would be my comfort;
    I would even exult^[c] in pain unsparing,
    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait?
    And what is my end, that I should be patient?
¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
¹³Have I any help in me,
    when resource is driven from me?

Footnotes:

Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Job 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Job 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

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Evening Psalm · Ps. 25

Teach Me Your Paths

^[a] Of David.

25 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
²O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
³Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

⁶Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹¹For your name's sake, O Lord,
    pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹²Who is the man who fears the Lord?
    Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
¹³His soul shall abide in well-being,
    and his offspring shall inherit the land.
¹⁴The friendship^[b] of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant.
¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

Footnotes:

Psalm 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 25:14 Or The secret counsel

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Second Reading · John 3:1-21

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²This man came to Jesus^[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again^[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^[c] ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind^[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you^[f] do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^[g] ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^[h]

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶“For God so loved the world,^[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Footnotes:

John 3:2 Greek him
John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7
John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here
John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
John 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12
John 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven
John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15
John 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world