Morning Prayer: Thursday 16 March 2023

Thursday 16 March 2023

Boniface of Ross, Bishop, eight century
Returning to God

Week 3 of 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 77
1 I will cry aloud to God;*
I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.

2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;*
my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire;
I refused to be comforted.

3 I think of God, I am restless,*
I ponder, and my spirit faints.

4 You will not let my eyelids close;*
I am troubled and I cannot speak.

5 I consider the days of old;*
I remember the years long past;

6 I commune with my heart in the night;*
I ponder and search my mind.

7 Will the Lord cast me off for ever?*
will he no more show his favour?

8 Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever?*
has his promise failed for evermore?

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?*
has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?

10 And I said, ‘My grief is this:*
the right hand of the Most High has lost its power.’

11 I will remember the works of the Lord,*
and call to mind your wonders of old time.

12 I will meditate on all your acts*
and ponder your mighty deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy;*
who is so great a god as our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders*
and have declared your power among the peoples.

15 By your strength you have redeemed your people,*
the children of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw you, O God;
the waters saw you and trembled;*
the very depths were shaken.

17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;*
your arrows flashed to and fro;

18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;*
the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way was in the sea,
and your paths in the great waters,*
yet your footsteps were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock*
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Glory to the Father...

God of saving power, remember us in times of sorrow and despair. Redeem us with your strength and guide us through the wilderness. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.



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)

Jeremiah 10.11-24

Thus shall you say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens. It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and he brings out the wind from his storehouses. Everyone is stupid and without knowledge; goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols; for their images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is the Lord, the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. Gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who live under siege! For thus says the Lord: I am going to fling away the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, so that they shall feel it. Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is severe. But I said, ‘Truly this is my punishment, and I must bear it.’ My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are no more; there is no one to spread my tent again, and to set up my curtains. For the shepherds are stupid, and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. Hear, a noise! Listen, it is coming— a great commotion from the land of the north to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals. I know, O Lord, that the way of human beings is not in their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.


Romans 5.12-21

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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: Lord, you are indeed the Saviour of the world Give us living water, that we may not thirst. cf John 3.16;4.15

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: Lord, you are indeed the Saviour of the world Give us living water, that we may not thirst. cf John 3.16;4.15

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

Merciful Father,
we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves:
when we are discouraged by our weakness,
give us strength to follow Christ, our pattern and our hope;
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.