Alban, Martyr
Thursday after Pentecost 2
Morning Prayer – Week C
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
sing the glory of his name!
Opening
VENITE
1 O come let us sing out to the Lord,*
let us shout in triumph to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his face with thanksgiving*
and cry out to him joyfully in psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God,*
and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,*
and the peaks of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it;*
his hands moulded dry land.
6 Come let us worship and bow down,*
and kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he himself is our God;*
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
8 Today if only you would hear his voice:*
‘Do not harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness;
9 when your fathers tested me;*
put me to proof though they had seen my works.
10 Of whom I swore in my wrath:*
“They shall not enter my rest.”’
Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)
or (from Psalm 66 and 92)
1 All the earth bows down before you,*
sings to you, sings out your name.
2 Bless our God, you peoples;*
make the voice of his praise to be heard.
3 It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,*
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
4 to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning*
and of your faithfulness in the night season.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 107.1-32
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,*
and his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim*
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3 He gathered them out of the lands;*
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes;*
they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;*
their spirits languished within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He put their feet on a straight path*
to go to a city where they might dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty*
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,*
bound fast in misery and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God*
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he humbled their spirits with hard labour;*
they stumbled, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He led them out of darkness and deep gloom*
and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze*
and breaks in two the iron bars.
17 Some were fools and took to rebellious ways;*
they were afflicted because of their sins.
18 They abhorred all manner of food*
and drew near to death’s door.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them*
and saved them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
22 Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving*
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships*
and plied their trade in deep waters;
24 They beheld the works of the Lord*
and his wonders in the deep.
25 Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose,*
which tossed high the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths;*
their hearts melted because of their peril.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards*
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper*
and quieted the waves of the sea.
30 Then were they glad because of the calm,*
and he brought them to the harbour they were bound for.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
32 Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people*
and praise him in the council of the elders.
O God, the divine seeker, you are light to the lost, bread to the hungry, deliverance to the captive, healing to the sick, eternal vision to the dying, and harbour to every soul in peril. Gather the wanderers from every corner of the world into the community of your mercy and grace, that we may eternally praise you for our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion (from Isaiah 12)
1 Behold God is my salvation;*
I will trust and not be afraid;
2 the Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
3 With joy you will draw water*
from the wells of salvation.
4 Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;*
make known his deeds among the nations.
5 Sing to the Lord for he has done gloriously;*
let this be known in all the earth.
6 Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Sion,*
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;
Sing the glory of his name!
READING(S)
1 Samuel 2:27-36
A man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus the Lord has said, “I revealed myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh. I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then look with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honour your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: “I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me for ever”; but now the Lord declares: “Far be it from me; for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. Then in distress you will look with greedy eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his eyes and grieve his heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword. The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one for ever. Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.” ’
Acts 2:22-36
‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
“I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”
‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, Davidspoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’
Silence
Response (Ps. 63.4)
I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
And lift up my hands in your name.
As long as I live.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: God has come to us* and set us free.
1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old*
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)
Benedictus Antiphon: God has come to us* and set us free.
PRAYERS
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Collect of the Day
O Lord,
you always guide your people
whom you build up on the foundation of your love:
make us ever stand in awe of your Holy Name,
and love you in equal measure;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.
