William of Perth (or Rochester), 1201
Morning Prayer – New Life: The Spirit
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: Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,* and your glory over all the earth. (Ps. 57.11)
Opening
Easter Anthems
1 Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us;*
so let us celebrate the feast.
2 Not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness,*
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3 Christ once raised from the dead dies no more;*
death has no more dominion over him.
4 In dying, he died to sin once for all;*
in living, he lives to God.
5 See yourselves therefore as dead to sin,*
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
6 Christ has been raised from the dead,*
the first fruits of those who sleep.
7 For as by man came death,*
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
8 For as in Adam all die,*
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
or (from Psalm 57)
1 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed;*
I will sing and make melody.
2 Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp:*
I myself will waken the dawn.
3 I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord;*
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
4 For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,*
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 147
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!*
how pleasant it is to honour him with praise!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;*
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted*
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars*
and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;*
there is no limit to his wisdom.
6 The Lord lifts up the lowly,*
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;*
make music to our God upon the harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds*
and prepares rain for the earth;
9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains*
and green plants to serve mankind.
10 He provides food for flocks and herds*
and for the young ravens when they cry.
11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse,*
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;
12 But the Lord has pleasure in those who fear him,*
in those who await his gracious favour.
13 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem;*
praise your God, O Zion;
14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;*
he has blessed your children within you.
15 He has established peace on your borders;*
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
16 He sends out his command to the earth,*
and his word runs very swiftly.
17 He gives snow like wool;*
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
18 He scatters his hail like bread crumbs;*
who can stand against his cold?
19 He sends forth his word and melts them;*
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
20 He declares his word to Jacob,*
his statutes and his judgements to Israel.
21 He has not done so to any other nation;*
to them he has not revealed his judgements.
Hallelujah!
Conclusion (Isaiah 61/Luke 4)
1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,*
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,
2 and has sent me to proclaim release to the captives;*
recovery of sight to the blind;
3 to set at liberty those who are oppressed;*
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
4 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;*
my soul shall exult in my God;
5 who has clothed me with the garment of salvation,*
and covered me with the robe of righteousness.
6 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,*
so the Lord will cause righteousness to spring forth before all nations.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,* and your glory over all the earth. (Ps. 57.11)
READING(S)
Ezekiel 43:1-12
Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple. He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel for ever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the corpses of their kings at their death. When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will reside among them for ever.
As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their iniquities. When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple.
Luke 11:14-23
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Silence
Response (Ps. 105.1)
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name,
alleluia, alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name,
alleluia, alleluia.
Make known his deeds among the peoples,
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name,
alleluia, alleluia.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: I will not leave you desolate, says the Lord;* I will come to you; alleluia. (John 14.18)
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: I will not leave you desolate, says the Lord;* I will come to you; alleluia. (John 14.18)
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 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
Almighty God, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven. Mercifully give us faith to know that, as he promised, he abides with us on earth to the end of time; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.
