Saturday 10 January – Morning Prayer
William Laud, Bishop, 1645
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: Your justice Lord dawns like morning light;* its dawning is as sure as the sunrise. (Hos. 6.3)
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 85
1 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying,*
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people.
2 Truly his salvation is very near to those who fear him,*
that his glory may dwell in our land.
3 Mercy and truth have met together;*
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
4 Truth shall spring up from the earth,*
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 29
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you gods,*
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;*
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders;*
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice;*
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees;*
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,*
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;*
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe*
and strips the forests bare.
9 And in the temple of the Lord*
all are crying, ‘Glory!’
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;*
the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
11 The Lord shall give strength to his people;*
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.
God of mystery and power, open our eyes to the flame of your love, and open our ears to the thunder of your justice, that we may receive your gifts of blessing and peace, to the glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion (from Isaiah 60)
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,*
the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold darkness shall cover the earth,*
thick darkness the peoples;
3 but the Lord will arise upon you;*
God’s glory will be seen upon you.
4 Nations shall come to your light;*
kings to the brightness of your rising.
5 The sun shall be no more your light by day;*
nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night;
6 but the Lord will be your everlasting light,*
your God will be your glory.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Your justice Lord dawns like morning
READING(S)
Isaiah 65:1-9
I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am’,
to a nation that did not call on my name.
I held out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
and offering incense on bricks;
who sit inside tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
See, it is written before me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,
says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
full payment for their actions.
Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it’,
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
and not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there.
Revelation 3:1-6
‘And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
‘I know your works; you have a name for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Silence
Response (Ps. 119.130)
When your word goes forth it gives light.
When your word goes forth it gives light.
It gives understanding to the simple.
It gives light.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
When your word goes forth it gives light.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: Glory to Christ* who is preached among the nations and believed on in the world. (from 1 Tim 3.16)
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: Glory to Christ* who is preached among the nations and believed on in the world. (from 1 Tim 3.16)
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
Eternal God, who by a star led wise men to the worship of your Son, guide by your light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may know your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
(A suitable hymn)
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.
