Thanksgiving Day
(USA)
¶ Instead of the Venite, the following shall be said or sung.
O PRAISE the Lord, for it
is a good thing to sing praises unto our God; * yea, a joyful and pleasant
thing it is to be thankful.
The Lord doth build up
Jerusalem, * and gather together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth those that are broken in heart, * and giveth medicine to heal their
sickness.
O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; * sing praises upon the harp unto our
God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth; * and
maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men;
Who giveth fodder unto
the cattle, * and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him.
Praise the Lord, O
Jerusalem; * praise thy God, O Sion.
For he hath made fast the
bars of thy gates, * and hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders,
* and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.
The Collect.
O MOST merciful Father,
who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of
the earth; We give thee humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty;
beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us, that our land may still
yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. St. James i. 16.
The Gospel. St. Matthew vi. 25.
Additional
readings that regularly come to my mind at this time of year:
Psalm 8
1O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! * who
hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength *
because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, *the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? * and the son of man, that
thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, * and hast crowned
him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; * thou hast
put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, * yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, * and whatsoever passeth
through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, * how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Deuteronomy 8.7-18
7 For
the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 8 A
land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land
of oil olive, and honey; 9 A land wherein thou shalt eat
bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose
stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 10 When
thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God
for the good land which he hath given thee. 11 Beware
that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his
commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this
day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast
built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy
herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and
all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be
lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth
out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 Who
led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery
serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought
thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16 Who fed
thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might
humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 And
thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me
this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember
the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,
that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is
this day.
1
Timothy 6.6-10, 17-19
6 But
godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And
having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But
they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For
the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows…17 Charge
them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to
enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good
works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying
up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that
they may lay hold on eternal life.
