Morning Prayer: Saturday 23 March 2019
Saturday after the Second Sunday of Lent
Returning to God
Week of Lent 2
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 God, you are my God;* eagerly I seek you. (Ps. 63.1)
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)
Glory to the Father
or a suitable Hymn
(Or from 63)
1 My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,*
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.
2 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself;*
my lips shall give you praise.
3 For you have been my helper,*
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
4 My soul clings to you;*
your right hand holds me fast.
Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn
49 Remember your word to your servant,*
because you have given me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my trouble,*
that your promise gives me life.
51 The proud have derided me cruelly,*
but I have not turned from your law.
52 When I remember your judgements of old,*
O Lord, I take great comfort.
53 I am filled with a burning rage,*
because of the wicked who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been like songs to me*
wherever I have lived as a stranger.
55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,*
and dwell upon your law.
56 This is how it has been with me,*
because I have kept your commandments.
Heth
57 You only are my portion, O Lord;*
I have promised to keep your words.
58 I entreat you with all my heart,*
be merciful to me according to your promise.
59 I have considered my ways*
and turned my feet toward your decrees.
60 I hasten and do not tarry*
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked entangle me,*
I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give you thanks,*
because of your righteous judgements.
63 I am a companion of all who fear you*
and of those who keep your commandments.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your love;*
instruct me in your statutes.
Teth
65 O Lord, you have dealt graciously with your servant,*
according to your word.
66 Teach me discernment and knowledge,*
for I have believed in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,*
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and you bring forth good;*
instruct me in your statutes.
69 The proud have smeared me with lies,*
but I will keep your commandments with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is gross and fat,*
but my delight is in your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,*
that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is dearer to me*
than thousands in gold and silver.
Glory to the Father...
Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love you with all our heart and to love our neighbour as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our Lord.
Conclusion
Ezekiel 36
1 I will gather you from every country,*
and bring you home to your own land.
2 I will pour clean water over you,*
and cleanse you from your idols.
3 A new heart I will give you,*
and put a new spirit within you.
4 I will take from your body the heart of stone.*
and give you a heart of flesh.
5 I will put my spirit within you.*
and make you walk in my ways and observe my decrees.
6 You will live in the land that I gave to your forebears;*
you will be my people and I will be your God.
Glory to the Father...
O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you.
READING(S)
Jeremiah 6.9-15
Romans 3.19-31
Silence
Response Psalm (6.4)
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Save me for your mercy's sake.
And deliver me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus antiphon:
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.
Benedictus antiphon:
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,you see that we lack the strength to help ourselves:
protect us both inwardly and outwardly;
that our bodies may be guarded from adversity,
and our minds may be defended
from such thoughts as assault and harm the soul;
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.