Late September, in the year 1622, Squanto died. He had helped the Pilgrims’ survive in the new world, as “A special instrument sent of God.” Governor Bradford wrote: “The winds drove [their boat] in; Captain Standish fell ill with fever… they could not get round the shoals of Cape Cod, for flats and breakers… so they put into Manamoick Bay… Here Squanto fell ill of Indian fever, bleeding much at the nose, - which the Indians take for a symptom of death… He begged the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen’s God in Heaven, and bequeathed several of his things to… his English friends… His death was a great loss.”

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

Suppose our failures occur,
not in spite of what we are doing,
but precisely because of it.
--- Dallas Willard
(The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God (See all Conspiracy Theory Books) )

... from here, there and everywhere

27 It isn’t good to eat too much honey
     or to seek honor after honor.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                The consciousness of the call

     For necessity is laid upon me: yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! --- 1 Cor. 9:16.

     We are apt to forget the mystical, supernatural touch of God. If you can tell where you got the call of God and all about it, I question whether you have ever had a call. The call of God does not come like that, it is much more supernatural. The realization of it in a man’s life may come with a sudden thunder-clap or with a gradual dawning, but in whatever way it comes, it comes with the undercurrent of the supernatural, something that cannot be put into words, it is always accompanied with a glow. At any moment there may break the sudden consciousness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life—“I have chosen you.” The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. It is not because you are sanctified that you are therefore called to preach the gospel; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a necessity laid upon him.

     If you have been obliterating the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances and see where God has not been first, but your ideas of service, or your temperamental abilities. Paul said—“Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” He had realized the call of God, and there was no competitor for his strength.

     If a man or woman is called of God, it does not matter how untoward circumstances are, every force that has been at work will tell for God’s purpose in the end. If you agree with God’s purpose He will bring not only your conscious life, but all the deeper regions of your life which you cannot get at, into harmony.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

This is pain's landscape.
  A savage agriculture is practiced
  Here; every farm has its
  Grandfather or grandmother, gnarled hands
  On the cheque-book, a long, slow
  Pull on the placenta about the neck.
  Old lips monopolise the talk
  When a friend calls. The children listen
  From the kitchen; the children march
  With angry patience against the dawn.
  They are waiting for someone to die
  Whose name is as bitter as the soil
  They handle. In clear pools
  In the furrows they watch themselves grow old
  To the terrible accompaniment of the song
  Of the blackbird, that promises them love.

R.S. Thomas Selected poems, 1946-1968

     * Woe to those who rely on Egypt (Isa. 31).

     When people have turned from God, in what will they trust? The people of Isaiah’s day trusted the military might of their ally, Egypt, and fastened on emptiness.

     The Egyptians are men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, he who helps will stumble, he who is helped will fall; both will perish together.

     When we lose sight of God, our perception of reality gets distorted. The fact is that the unseen things are far more real than the seen. The material things on which we fix our hope when we wander from God are bound to disappoint—and to bring woe.

     Salvation’s certainty (Isa. 32–35). Isaiah affirmed that God is Salvation:

     Isaiah told the fruit God’s righteousness will produce and reviewed the work of the destroyer. He described the judgments that would finally overthrow the oppressor nations. Then Isaiah pictured the joy of the whole world breaking into bloom, warmed by the glory and splendor of our God. And the fruit will be righteousness.

     In the early chapters of his book Isaiah focused on the corruption and unrighteousness that marked the people’s lifestyle. Now he portrayed the righteousness that will mark the lifestyle of the redeemed. When the Spirit of God is poured out on humankind:

     Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

     Isaiah 32:16–17

     Those who draw on God’s rich store of salvation can live in the presence of the consuming fire. Who can reside with the Holy One?

      He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil—this is the man who will dwell on the heights.

Richards, L., & Richards, The Teacher's Commentary.

     Evangelist George Whitefield longed to die preaching, and he almost did. In 1770, on a final tour through the American colonies, he ignored the pleas of doctors and friends to rest. When too tired to preach, he lifted his voice all the more. When asthmatic colds caused breathing crimps, he ignored them. He claimed that a good “pulpit sweat” was beneficial. But the vomiting, diarrhea, and shivering increased as autumn arrived.

     On Saturday, September 29, 1770, Whitefield rode to Exeter, New Hampshire, where someone, seeing his appearance, told him he was more fit to go to bed than to preach. “It’s true,” Whitefield replied, then he burst into prayer: “Lord, I am weary in thy work, but not of it. If I have not yet finished my course, let me speak for Thee once more and come home and die.”

     A crowd assembled and Whitefield stood precariously atop a barrel. He quoted 2 Corinthians 13:5—Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith—then began to preach. “He rose up sluggishly and wearily,” reported an eyewitness, “as if exhausted by his labors. His face seemed bloated, his voice hoarse, his enunciation heavy. But then his mind kindled, and his lionlike voice roared to the extremities of his audience.” He told the crowd he would rather climb to the moon by a rope of sand than try to achieve heaven by works. Whitefield kept his audience spellbound for two hours. Then he suddenly cried, “I go! I have outlived many on earth but they cannot outlive me in heaven. My body fails, my spirit expands.”

     Finishing his sermon, he was helped from the barrel to his horse and he continued to Newburyport. That evening a group of friends gathered and asked Whitefield to speak to them. He begged off, citing asthma. But then he rose and took a lighted candle, starting up the steps. Turning, he delivered a brief but moving message. When the candle died out, he continued up the stairs and went on to his bed where he died during the night.

     Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed. I hope you will discover that we have not failed.
2 Corinthians 13:5,6.

Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

     “Happy is one who dies this kind of death!” How can death be happy?

     There are two ways. First, death can be a “friend” that releases a person from suffering. As Tennyson put it, “Sweet is death who puts an end to pain.” Sweet is a death that releases a loved one from torturous suffering, that allows us to remember the strong, active person rather than the tormented skeleton that illness has created.

     Death can also be happy because it forces us to face life. Our mortality prevents us from putting off things that have to be done. We must accomplish what we envision in life now because life does not last forever. Death happily pushes us to do what we would otherwise delay, and perhaps avoid altogether.

     Thus, death is not necessarily something to be feared. It is not the enemy. We, like Moses, can see death as a friend. Rather than thinking “If only I could live forever …,” we should say, “I’m happy to live this kind of life, and I’d be happy then to die that kind of death!”

     ANOTHER D’RASH

     The Yiddish proverb states that “even in dying, you need mazel (luck).”

     One man dies at the ripe old age of ninety-one; a teenager is killed in a car crash at seventeen.

     A woman lies down in bed at night and peacefully passes away in her sleep; another woman suffers for years through cancer, heart disease, and kidney failure before finally succumbing in agony.

     One man’s funeral takes place during a ferocious blizzard, and no one but a few immediate family members attend the service; a woman’s funeral is held on a glorious Sunday in the fall and hundreds pack the chapel.

     A saintly nun in India who has tended to the poor passes away five days after the sudden death of a glamorous British princess, and a lifetime of good work is almost forgotten in the media frenzy.

     Even in dying, you need mazel.

     As Moses approaches the end of his life, he thinks back on his brother Aaron and remarks, “Happy is one who dies that kind of death. How lucky he was: his family by his side, his people there to show their love, and the final moment coming painlessly, with a kiss from God. I wish I had the mazel of such a death.”

     The irony is that throughout their lives, it was probably Aaron who was envious of Moses. “I wish I had the mazel of his life,” Aaron may have said to himself on a hundred occasions. Aaron was the older brother, yet Moses became the more famous of the two, the one whose name would go down in history: Moses the Liberator, Moses the Law-Giver. People would even question Aaron’s supporting role: “The only reason that he became Kohen Gadol, High Priest, is nepotism! He got the job because of who his brother was!” Aaron was brought up in slavery; Moses was raised as the son of privilege in the house of Pharaoh’s daughter. Aaron was supposed to be the religious authority, yet God chose to speak only to Moses. Moses abandoned the people for forty days, leaving Aaron to deal with the panic and a riot, and then when he returned, Moses blamed Aaron for allowing the construction of the Golden Calf. Moses got to see the Promised Land; Aaron did not. Moses’ children outlived him; Aaron had to bury two of his children, who died tragically.

     An individual has very little control over death. It is not in our hands how we die, or when. As the Yiddish proverb reminds us, dying is a matter of luck—or perhaps, more correctly, a matter for God. What we do have some control over is how we live. Moses should have learned a lesson from his older brother. Instead of envying Aaron for his death, Moses should have realized, at the end of his life, how fortunate, how lucky, how blessed he had been. The proverb that he should have spoken, that all of us need to keep on our lips, is “Happy is the one who lived this kind of life!”

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     How great is God—beyond our understanding! --- Job 36:26.

     Define God? (Joseph Parker (1830–1902), “The Unknowable God,” downloaded from a Web site of Tom Garner, at www.txdirect.net/~tgarner/ghmor2.htm, accessed Aug. 21, 2001.) We have called him Creator, Sovereign, Father; then Infinite Creator, Eternal Sovereign, Gracious Father, as if we could build up our word-bricks to heaven and surprise the unknown and the unknowable in his solitude and look on him face-to-face.

     Our words! Words that come and go like unstable fashions. Words that die of age, that cannot be accepted unanimously even by two people in all their suggestions and relations. Into these words we have invited God, and because he cannot come into them but as a devouring fire, we have stood back in offense and unbelief.

     God! God! God! Ever hidden, ever present, ever distant, ever near, making the knees knock in terror, filling all space yet leaving room for all his creatures; a terror, a hope—undefinable, unknowable, irresistible, immeasurable.

     We have chosen the very worst word in our haste, and we have needlessly humbled ourselves in doing so. Instead of unknowable, invisible, and incomprehensible, say superknowable, supervisible, and supercomprehensible. Then the mystery is made luminous.

     From the unknowable I turn away humiliated and discouraged; from the superknowable I return humbled yet inspired. The unknowable says, “Fool, why knock at granite as if it were a door that could be opened?” The superknowable says, “There is something larger than your intelligence; a secret, a force, a beginning, a God!” The difficulty is always in the lame word and not in the solemn truth. We make no progress in religion while we keep to our crippled feet, picking over such stones as unknown, unknowable, invisible, and incomprehensible, and we finish our toilsome journey exactly where we began it.

     In its higher aspects and questionings [religion] is not a road to walk on, it is an open expanse of the heavens to fly in. Enthusiasm sees God. Love sees God. But we have built our prudent religion on the sand. On the sand! So we walk around it and measure it and break it up into propositions and placard it on church walls.

     My soul, amid all unknowableness, hold fast to the faith that you can know God. You cannot know about him by intellectual art or theological craft. By love and pureness, know him.
--- Joseph Parker

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS
YEARS 1 & 2

MORNING PRAYER

Psalms Psalm 8, 148
Old Testament Job 38:1–7
New Testament Hebrews 1:1–14

Index of Readings

PSALMS
Psalm 8, 148

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!

OLD TESTAMENT
Job 38:1–7

38 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

NEW TESTAMENT
Hebrews 1:1–14

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like clothing;
12 like a cloak you will roll them up,
and like clothing they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.”
13 But to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

EVENING PRAYER

Psalms Psalm 34, Psalm 150 or Psalm 104
Old Testament Daniel 12:1–3 or 2 Kings 6:8–17
New Testament Mark 13:21–27 or Revelation 5:1–14

Index of Readings

PSALMS
Psalm 34

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech,
so that he drove him out, and he went away.

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD,
and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
9 O fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD rescues them from them all.
20 He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Choose from the following:
Option A
Psalm 150

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

OR
Option Bv Psalm 104

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.

5 You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
11 giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!

OLD TESTAMENT
Option A
Daniel 12:1–3

12 “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

OR
Option B
2 Kings 6:8–17

8 Once when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he took counsel with his officers. He said, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Take care not to pass this place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 The king of Israel sent word to the place of which the man of God spoke. More than once or twice he warned such a place so that it was on the alert.

11 The mind of the king of Aram was greatly perturbed because of this; he called his officers and said to them, “Now tell me who among us sides with the king of Israel?” 12 Then one of his officers said, “No one, my lord king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel, who tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.” 13 He said, “Go and find where he is; I will send and seize him.” He was told, “He is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots there and a great army; they came by night, and surrounded the city.

15 When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, “Alas, master! What shall we do?” 16 He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed: “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

NEW TESTAMENT
Option A
Mark 13:21–27

21 And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’—do not believe it. 22 False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be alert; I have already told you everything.

24 “But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

OR
Option B
Revelation 5:1–14

5 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2 and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. 8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They sing a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and people and nation;
10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
and they will reign on earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary