Morning Prayer: Friday 23 September 2022

Friday 23 September 2022

Adamnan of Iona, Abbot, 704
Creation Week 3. Authorised by the College of Bishops for Experimental Use

Week of Proper 25

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: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! From whom and through whom and to whom are all things. To God be the glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11:33,36

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
or a suitable Hymn
(Or from Psalm 24.1-4)

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
For God has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in God’s holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 139
1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me;*
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places*
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips,*
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You press upon me behind and before*
and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;*
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

6 Where can I go then from your Spirit?*
where can I flee from your presence?

7 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;*
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

8 If I take the wings of the morning*
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

9 Even there your hand will lead me*
and your right hand hold me fast.

10 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me,*
and the light around me turn to night,’

11 Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;*
darkness and light to you are both alike.

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts;*
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

13 I will thank you because I am marvellously made;*
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14 My body was not hidden from you,*
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book;*
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.

16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God!*
how great is the sum of them!

17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number
than the sand;*
to count them all, my life span would need to
be like yours.

18 Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God!*
You that thirst for blood, depart from me.

19 They speak despitefully against you;*
your enemies take your name in vain.

20 Do I not hate those, O Lord, who hate you?*
and do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

21 I hate them with a perfect hatred;*
they have become my own enemies.

22 Search me out, O God, and know my heart;*
try me and know my restless thoughts.

23 Look well whether there be any wickedness in me*
and lead me in the way that is everlasting.

Glory to the Father...

God of mystery and power, even our minds and hearts are the veils and signs of your presence. We come in silent wonder to learn the way of simplicity, the eternal road that leads to love for you and for your whole creation. We come as your Son Jesus Christ taught us, and in his name.

Conclusion

Isaiah 24:4-7

The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
For they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.
The wine dries up, the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! From whom and through whom and to whom are all things. To God be the glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:33,36)

READING(S)

Esther 8.1-8,15-17

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. The king held out the golden sceptre to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, ‘If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favour, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?’ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, ‘See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.’ Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honour. In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

Acts 19.21-41

Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, ‘After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.’ So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia. About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.’ When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Silence

Response Psalm (Romans 8:19-21)

Creation waits in hope for God’s children to be revealed.
Creation waits in hope for God’s children to be revealed.
That Creation may be set free from its bondage to decay.
For God’s children to be revealed.
Glory to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit.
Creation waits in hope for God’s children to be revealed.

BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy. ( Psalm 96:11-12

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: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy. ( Psalm 96:11-12

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 God,
in whose wisdom all things have been established in order:
enlighten the people you have saved,
that they may consider
the greater wonder of your new creation,
brought forth in the fullness of time,
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
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.