Morning Prayer: Thursday 20 February 2025
This is the new revised order for Daily Prayer authorised for experimental use. You can find the 2006 Revised version here.
Thursday Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Week B
Week of Proper 6
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory 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: Your sovereignty is an everlasting one;* your dominion endures throughout all ages. (Psalm 145.13)
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 145)
1. I will exalt you, O God my sovereign,*
and bless your name for ever and ever.
2. All your works praise you, O Lord,*
and your faithful servants bless you.
3. They make known the glory of your dominion *
and speak of your power;
4. So that the peoples may know of your power *
and the glorious splendour of your dominion.
Glory ...
or a suitable hymn
105. Your word is a lantern to my feet *
and a light upon my path.
106. I have sworn and am determined *
to keep your righteous judgements.
107. I am deeply troubled; *
preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.
108. Accept, O Lord, the willing tribute of my lips, *
and teach me your judgements.
109. My life is always in my hand, *
yet I do not forget your law.
110. The wicked have set a trap for me, *
but I have not strayed from your commandments.
111. Your decrees are my inheritance for ever; *
truly, they are the joy of my heart.
112. I have applied my heart to fulfil your statutes *
for ever and to the end.
Samekh
113. I hate those who have a divided heart, *
but your law do I love.
114. You are my refuge and shield; *
my hope is in your word.
115. Away from me, you wicked! *
I will keep the commandments of my God.
116. Sustain me according to your promise, that I may live, *
and let me not be disappointed in my hope.
117. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, *
and my delight shall be ever in your statutes.
118. You spurn all who stray from your statutes; *
their deceitfulness is in vain.
119. In your sight all the wicked of the earth are but dross; *
therefore I love your decrees.
120. My flesh trembles with dread of you; *
I am afraid of your judgements.
Ayin
121. I have done what is just and right; *
do not deliver me to my oppressors.
122. Be surety for your servant’s good; *
let not the proud oppress me.
123. My eyes have failed from watching for your salvation *
and for your righteous promise.
124. Deal with your servant according to your loving-kindness *
and teach me your statutes.
125. I am your servant; grant me understanding, *
that I may know your decrees.
126. It is time for you to act, O Lord, *
for they have broken your law.
127. Truly, I love your commandments *
more than gold and precious stones.
128. I hold all your commandments to be right for me; *
all paths of falsehood I abhor.
Glory ...
Conclusion
Isaiah 40
1. The Lord is the everlasting God,*
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
2. who does not faint nor grow weary,*
whose understanding is unsearchable,
3. who gives power to the faint,*
increase of strength to those who have no might.
4. Even youth shall faint and be weary;*
the young shall fall exhausted.
5 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;*
they shall mount up with wings like eagles.
6. They shall run and not be weary,*
they shall walk and not faint.
Glory ...
Your sovereignty is an everlasting one;* your dominion endures throughout all ages.
READING(S)
Isaiah 65.1-12
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.
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
But you who forsake the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not answer,
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight,
and chose what I did not delight in.
1 Timothy 4.1-16
If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe.
These are the things you must insist on and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Silence
Response (Psalm 86.12)
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
I will glorify your name for evermore.
With all my heart.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
SONG OF ZECHARIAH
Song of Zechariah Antiphon: You will guide us with your counsel, O God: * and, after, receive us with glory. 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.
Song of Zechariah Antiphon: You will guide us with your counsel, O God: * and, after, receive us with glory. 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
Almighty God,grant that with our minds set always on your wisdom and love,
we may pursue both in word and deed
those things that are pleasing in your sight;
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.
