Morning Prayer: Sunday 24 August 2025
This is the new revised order for Daily Prayer authorised for experimental use. You can find the 2006 Revised version here.
Pentecost 11
Week D
Week of Proper 21
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness;* make your way straight before me. (Psalm. 5.8)
Opening
Come, let us sing
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord; *let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to God with psalms.
3 For you, O Lord, are a great God, *
and a great sovereign above all gods.
4 In your hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are yours also.
5 The sea is yours, for you made it, *
and your hands have moulded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For you are our God, and we are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand. *
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!
8 “Harden not your hearts, *
as your forebears did in the wilderness.
9 They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.
10 So I swore in my wrath, *
‘They shall not enter into my rest.’”
Glory ...
or a suitable Hymn
(Or from Psalm 5)
1. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;*
early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
2. Through the greatness of your mercy I will go into your house;*
I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.
3. All who take refuge in you will be glad;*
they will sing out their joy for ever.
4. You will shelter them,*
so that those who love your name may exult in you.
Glory ...
or a suitable hymn
and all the hardships he endured.
2. How he swore an oath to the Lord *
and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob.
3. “I will not come under the roof of my house, *
nor climb up into my bed;
4. I will not allow my eyes to sleep, *
nor let my eyelids slumber;
5. until I find a place for the Lord, *
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6. “The Ark! We heard it was in Ephratah; *
we found it in the fields of Jearim.
7. Let us go to the dwelling place of the Lord; *
let us fall upon our knees before the footstool of the Lord.”
8. Arise, O Lord, into your resting-place, *
you and the ark of your strength.
9. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; *
let your faithful people sing with joy.
10. For your servant David’s sake, *
do not turn away the face of your anointed.
11. You, O Lord, have sworn an oath to David; in truth, you will not break it: *
“A son, the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.
12. If your children keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, *
their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”
13. For you, O Lord, have chosen Zion, *
and have desired it for your habitation:
14. “This shall be my resting-place for ever; *
here will I dwell, for I delight in it.
15. I will surely bless its provisions, *
and satisfy its poor with bread.
16. I will clothe its priests with salvation, *
and its faithful people will rejoice and sing.
17. There will I make the horn of David flourish; *
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18. As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame; *
but as for him, his crown will shine.”
Glory ...
Psalm 133
1. Oh, how good and pleasant it is, *
when kindred live together in unity!
2. It is like fine oil upon the head that runs down upon the beard, *
upon the beard of Aaron, and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
3. It is like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the hills of Zion. *
For there the Lord has ordained the blessing: life for evermore
Conclusion
Isaiah 66
1. Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her,*
all you who love her.
2. Share her joy with all your heart,*
all you who mourn over her.
3. Then you may suck and be fed from her breasts,*
delighting in her plentiful milk.
4. For thus says the Lord, I will send peace flowing over her like a river,*
and the wealth of nations like a stream in flood;
5. you shall be carried in her arms,*
and rocked upon her knees.
6. As a mother comforts her child,*
so will I myself comfort you, and you shall find strength
in Jerusalem.
7. This you shall see and be glad at heart;*
your limbs shall be as the fresh grass in spring.*
8. Then I myself will gather all nations;*
and they shall come and behold my glory.
Glory ...
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness;* make your way straight before me.
READING(S)
2 Kings 6.8-23
The mind of the king of Aram was greatly perturbed because of this; he called his officers and said to them, ‘Now tell me who among us sides with the king of Israel?’ Then one of his officers said, ‘No one, my lord king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel, who tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.’ He said, ‘Go and find where he is; I will send and seize him.’ He was told, ‘He is in Dothan.’ So he sent horses and chariots there and a great army; they came by night, and surrounded the city.
When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, ‘Alas, master! What shall we do?’ He replied, ‘Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Strike this people, please, with blindness.’ So he struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. Elisha said to them, ‘This is not the way, and this is not the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.’ And he led them to Samaria.
As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, ‘O Lord, open the eyes of these men so that they may see.’ The Lord opened their eyes, and they saw that they were inside Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them he said to Elisha, ‘Father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?’ He answered, ‘No! Did you capture with your sword and your bow those whom you want to kill? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink; and let them go to their master.’ So he prepared for them a great feast; after they ate and drank, he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. And the Arameans no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.
Acts 17.15-34
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.’ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Silence
Response (Psalm 33.18)
Behold, your eye, O Lord, is upon those who fear you,* on those who wait upon your love.
Behold, your eye, O Lord, is upon those who fear you,* on those who wait upon your love.
On those who wait upon your love.
On those who fear you.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Behold, your eye, O Lord, is upon those who fear you,* on those who wait upon your love.
SONG OF ZECHARIAH
Song of Zechariah Antiphon: You will guide us with your counsel, O God: * and, after, receive us with glory. God has raised up for us * * a mighty Saviour.
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.
Song of Zechariah Antiphon: You will guide us with your counsel, O God: * and, after, receive us with glory. God has raised up for us * * a mighty Saviour.
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
Almighty and eternal God,by your generous love
you grant to those who pray
more than is desired or deserved:
pour down your mercy upon us,
forgiving what our conscience fears,
and granting what we dare not ask;
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.
