Morning Prayer: Thursday 8 February 2018

February 8, 2018

Thursday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Morning Prayer – Week A

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: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being. (Ps. 104.34)

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 104)

1 You spread out the heavens like a curtain;*
you lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above;
2 You make the clouds your chariot;*
you ride on the wings of the wind;
3 You make the winds your messengers*
and flames of fire your servants.
4 You have set the earth upon its foundations,*
so that it never shall move at any time.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 18.1-20

1 I love you, O Lord my strength,*
O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.
2 My God, my rock in whom I put my trust,*
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.
3 I will call upon the Lord,*
and so shall I be saved from my enemies.
4 The breakers of death rolled over me,*
and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.
5 The cords of hell entangled me,*
and the snares of death were set for me.
6 I called upon the Lord in my distress*
and cried out to my God for help .
7 He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling;*
my cry of anguish came to his ears.
8 The earth reeled and rocked;*
the roots of the mountains shook;
they reeled because of his anger.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils
and a consuming fire out of his mouth;*
hot burning coals blazed forth from him.
10 He parted the heavens and came down*
with a storm cloud under his feet.
11 He mounted on Cherubim and flew;*
he swooped on the wings of the wind.
12 He wrapped darkness about him;*
he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
13 From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds,*
burst hailstones and coals of fire.
14 The Lord thundered out of heaven;*
the Most High uttered his voice.
15 He loosed his arrows and scattered them;*
he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.
16 The beds of the seas were uncovered,
and the foundations of the world laid bare,*
at your battle cry, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high and grasped me;*
he drew me out of great waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemies
and from those who hated me;*
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster;*
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into an open place;*
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Praise to you, God of our salvation; you come to our help and set us free. May your strength be our shield and your word be our lamp, that we may serve you with pure hearts and find victory through our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Conclusion Isaiah 45

1 Thus says the Lord who created the heavens,*
who formed the earth and made it;
2 who did not create it a chaos,*
but formed it to be inhabited –
3 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;*
for I am God: there is no other.
4 From my mouth has gone forth in righteousness*
a word that shall not return:
5 “To me every knee shall bow,*
every tongue shall swear”.’
6 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel*
shall triumph and glory.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being.

READING(S)

Genesis 27.30-45

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting. He also prepared savoury food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, ‘Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.’ His father Isaac said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He answered, ‘I am your firstborn son, Esau.’ Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, ‘Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!’ When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, father!’ But he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.’ Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing.’ Then he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’ Isaac answered Esau, ‘I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?’ Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!’ And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Then his father Isaac answered him:
‘See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be,
and away from the dew of heaven on high.
By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you break loose,
you shall break his yoke from your neck.’

Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, ‘Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?’

Romans 12.9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Silence

Response Ps 92.4

In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
I will sing for joy because of the works of your hands.
You have made me glad.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.

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,
watch over your household with constant love:
that, supported by you alone,
we may always stand firm in your protection;
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.