Morning Prayer: Saturday 5 March 2022

Saturday 5 March 2022

This is the order for Daily Prayer as revised in 2006. You can find the 2024 revised Daily Prayer for today, authorised for experimental use, here.

Saturday before Lent
Returning to God

Saturday before Lent

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. Psalm 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
or a suitable Hymn
(Or from Psalm 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

Psalm 119.57-80

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.

Yodh

73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me;*
give me understanding, that I may learn your
commandments.

74 Those who fear you will be glad when they see me,*
because I trust in your word.

75 I know, O Lord, that your judgements are right*
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

76 Let your loving-kindness be my comfort*
as you have promised to your servant.

77 Let your compassion come to me, that I may live,*
for your law is my delight.

78 Let the arrogant be put to shame, for they wrong me
with lies;*
but I will meditate on your commandments.

79 Let those who fear you turn to me,*
and also those who know your decrees.

80 Let my heart be sound in your statutes,*
that I may not be put to shame.

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...

Antiphon: O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you.

READING(S)

Ezekiel 39.21-29

I will display my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgement that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt treacherously with me. So I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame, and all the treachery they have practised against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies lands, and through them have displayed my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will leave none of them behind; and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.

Philippians 4.10-20

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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: Create in me a clean heart, O God Psalm 51.11

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: Create in me a clean heart, O God Psalm 51.11

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,
you hate nothing that you have made,
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent:
create in us a clean and contrite heart;
that, in lamenting our sinfulness,
we may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
forgiveness and perfect peace;
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.