The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday Closest to June 1
Proper 4 Year A BCP

Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28
Romans 3:21-25a,28
Matthew 7:21-27
Psalm 31 or 31:1-5,19-24

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28

You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known.

Psalm 31 or 31:1-5,19-24 Page 622, BCP

In te, Domine, speravi

1

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame; *
deliver me in your righteousness.

2

Incline your ear to me; *
make haste to deliver me.

3

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you are my crag and my stronghold; *
for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.

4

Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
for you are my tower of strength.

5

Into your hands I commend my spirit, *
for you have redeemed me,
O LORD, O God of truth.

6

I hate those who cling to worthless idols, *
and I put my trust in the LORD.

7

I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy; *
for you have seen my affliction;
you know my distress.

8

You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy; *
you have set my feet in an open place.

9

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; *
my eye is consumed with sorrow,
and also my throat and my belly.

10

For my life is wasted with grief,
and my years with sighing; *
my strength fails me because of affliction,
and my bones are consumed.

11

I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbors,
a dismay to those of my acquaintance; *
when they see me in the street they avoid me.

12

I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; *
I am as useless as a broken pot.

13

For I have heard the whispering of the crowd;
fear is all around; *
they put their heads together against me;
they plot to take my life.

14

But as for me, I have trusted in you, O LORD. *
I have said, "You are my God.

15

My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.

16

Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
and in your loving-kindness save me."

17

LORD, let me not be ashamed for having called upon you; *
rather, let the wicked be put to shame;
let them be silent in the grave.

18

Let the lying lips be silenced which speak against the righteous, *
haughtily, disdainfully, and with contempt.

19

How great is your goodness, O LORD!
which you have laid up for those who fear you; *
which you have done in the sight of all
for those who put their trust in you.

20

You hide them in the covert of your presence from those who slander them; *
you keep them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.

21

Blessed be the LORD! *
for he has shown me the wonders of his love in a besieged city.

22

Yet I said in my alarm,
"I have been cut off from the sight of your eyes." *
Nevertheless, you heard the sound of my entreaty
when I cried out to you.

23

Love the LORD, all you who worship him; *
the LORD protects the faithful,
but repays to the full those who act haughtily.

24

Be strong and let your heart take courage, *
all you who wait for the LORD.

Romans 3:21-25a,28

Now the righteousness of God has been disclosed, apart from law, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

Matthew 7:21-27

Jesus said. "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell-- and great was its fall!"

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

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