Morning Prayer: Wednesday 23 July 2014

July 23, 2014

Wednesday after Pentecost 6
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! (Ps. 66.1)

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 Psalms 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 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?*
the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh,*
it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who
stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army should encamp against me,*
yet my heart shall not be afraid;
4 And though war should rise up against me,*
yet will I put my trust in him.
5 One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek;*
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;
6 To behold the fair beauty of the Lord*
and to seek him in his temple.
7 For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter;*
he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling
and set me high upon a rock.
8 Even now he lifts up my head*
above my enemies round about me.
9 Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblation
with sounds of great gladness;*
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
10 Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call;*
have mercy on me and answer me.
11 You speak in my heart and say, ‘Seek my face.’*
Your face, Lord, will I seek.
12 Hide not your face from me,*
nor turn away your servant in displeasure.
13 You have been my helper;
cast me not away;*
do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.
14 Though my father and my mother forsake me,*
the Lord will sustain me.
15 Show me your way, O Lord;*
lead me on a level path, because of my enemies.
16 Deliver me not into the hand of my adversaries,*
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
and also those who speak malice.
17 What if I had not believed
that I should see the goodness of the Lord*
in the land of the living!
18 O tarry and await the Lord’s pleasure;*
be strong, and he shall comfort your heart;
wait patiently for the Lord.

Faithful God, the shelter of all who hope in you, may those who seek your face be set free from fear and distress, and come to see your goodness in the land of the living; through Jesus Christ, our Light and our Salvation.

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)
Joshua 8: 30-35

Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, ‘an altar of unhewn stones, on which no iron tool has been used’; and they offered on it burnt-offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed offerings of well-being.And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterwards he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them.

Romans 14:13-23

Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

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 Antiphons: God promised of old* to save us.

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)

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, your Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence. Give us pure hearts and constant wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

(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.