Morning Prayer: Sunday 24 September 2023

Sunday 24 September 2023

Pentecost 17
Creation Week 4 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: The tree of life produces fruit each month And the leaves of the tree are for healing of nations. Revelation 22:2

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 Isaiah 40.26-28)

To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
God who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
God is great in strength,
mighty in power, and not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God’?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 40:26-28)

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 149
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song;*
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.

2 Let Israel rejoice in his maker;*
let the children of Zion be joyful in their king.

3 Let them praise his name in the dance;*
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people*
and adorns the poor with victory.

5 Let the faithful rejoice in triumph;*
let them be joyful on their beds.

6 Let the praises of God be in their throat*
and a two-edged sword in their hand;

7 To wreak vengeance on the nations*
and punishment on the peoples;

8 To bind their kings in chains*
and their nobles with links of iron;

9 To inflict on them the judgement decreed;*
this is glory for all his faithful people.
Hallelujah!

Glory to the Father...

Accept our praise, God of justice, defender of the oppressed. Give us grace to join in this your holy work, that all the world may see your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

Revelation 21.3-5

I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
God will dwell with them, they will be God’s peoples,
And God will be with them, and will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said,
‘See, I am making all things new.’.

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon The tree of life produces fruit each month And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

READING(S)

Ezekiel 33.23,33-34.10

The word of the Lord came to me: When this comes—and come it will!—then they shall know that a prophet has been among them. The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.

Acts 26.1,9-25

Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself.’ Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities. ‘With this in mind, I was travelling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.” I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” ‘After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.’ While he was making this defence, Festus exclaimed, ‘You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth.

Silence

Response Psalm (Isaiah 40.3)

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Glory to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit.
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.

BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: O Lord God, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. Jeremiah 32.17

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: O Lord God, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. Jeremiah 32.17

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

God of our salvation,
be with us when we call upon you,
and bless us with your steadfast loving kindness:
restore in us the beauty of your creation
and keep intact the gifts you have restored,
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.