Introduction

THESE HESE responsive readings are an attempt to adapt for the public worship of Christian congregations those noble passages of both Old and New Testaments which are suited to the purpose. In general all didactic scriptures have been avoided, and those chosen which, like the Psalms, present to God the united prayer and praise of the congregation, or, like the great chapters in Isaiah, represent the people as meditating upon and exalted by their common faith. The rendering is that of the American Standard Revised Version, with this exception: that wherever the name Jehovah appears, the general term Lord has been used. This is done in answer to the widespread and reasonable demand that our Christian services of devotion shall not be unnecessarily encumbered by outgrown Hebraisms.

Responsive Readings

FROM THE

AMERICAN STANDARD EDITION OF THE
REVISED VERSION OF THE BIBLE

SELECTION 1

A CALL TO WORSHIP

Psalm xcv

COME, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,

And a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth;

The heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker:

For he is our God,

And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Isaiah xxv

O LORD thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy

name;

For thou hast done wonderful things, in faithfulness and truth.

5

Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord;

We have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

SELECTION 2

MORNING PRAYER

Psalm v

GIV

IVE ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
Harken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my

God;

For unto thee do I pray.

O Lord, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice;

In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch.

Psalm cxxx

OUT of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning;

Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness.

With him is plenteous redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

MY soul, wait thou in silence for God only;

For my expectation is from him.

Psalm 1xi

He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my high tower I shall not be moved.

With God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Trust in him at all times, ye people;

Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

SELECTION 3

EVENING PRAYER

GOD, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee:

Psalm 1xlii

My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and weary land, where no water is.

So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary, to see thy power and thy glory.

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

So will I bless thee while I live:

I will lift up my hands in thy name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;

And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember thee upon my bed,

And meditate on thee in the night-watches.

For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul followeth hard after thee;

Thy right hand upholdeth me.

I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the mountains;

From whence shall my help come?

Psalm exxi

My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:

He that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep thee from all evil; he will keep thy soul.