Divine Deliverance

Reflecting on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Three Days after Sunday (Year A)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 86:11-17

Old Testament: Jeremiah 42:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 10:5-23

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 6

Old Testament: Jeremiah 38:1-13

Gospel: Matthew 10:5-23

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Prayer

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Reflection

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

    O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.

My soul also is struck with terror,

    while you, O Lord—how long?

Turn, O Lord, save my life;

    deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.

For in death there is no remembrance of you;

    in Sheol who can give you praise?

I am weary with my moaning;

    every night I flood my bed with tears;

    I drench my couch with my weeping.

My eyes waste away because of grief;

    they grow weak because of all my foes.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard my supplication;

    the Lord accepts my prayer.

All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;

    they shall turn back and in a moment be put to shame (Psalm 6).

In the realm where sorrows dwell,

Where darkness weaves its wretched spell,

There lies a path, unseen, unknown,

A beacon of hope, divine, and sown.

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From heavens above, a grace descends,

With love and mercy, its message sends,

A divine deliverance, profound and true,

To lift us up, and make us anew.

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In times of anguish, when spirits break,

When storms assail and hearts ache,

A presence whispers through the strife,

A guiding light, the breath of life.

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With gentle touch and soothing balm,

The divine deliverance, like a psalm,

Reaches out to mend each shattered soul,

To heal the wounds and make us whole.

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From depths of despair to heights untold,

Where dreams take flight and love unfolds,

The hand of providence, a guiding force,

Leads us on, a divine discourse.

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Through trials and tribulations we face,

The divine deliverance leaves no trace,

But in our hearts, a lasting trace remains,

A testament to the grace that sustains.

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So let us bow before the divine embrace,

Embracing solace, feeling the embrace,

For in our struggles, we find our way,

Divine deliverance, our guiding ray.

PRAYER: O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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