Morning Prayer: Thursday 22 April 2021

Thursday 22 April 2021

Thursday after Third Sunday of Easter
New Life: the Lord

Week 3 of Easter

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: Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who sleep. (1 Corinthians 15-20)

Opening

Easter Anthems

1 Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us;*
so let us celebrate the feast.
2 Not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness,*
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3 Christ once raised from the dead dies no more;*
death has no more dominion over him.
4 In dying, he died to sin once for all;*
in living, he lives to God.
5 See yourselves therefore as dead to sin,*
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
6 Christ has been raised from the dead,*
the first fruits of those who sleep.
7 For as by man came death,*
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
8 For as in Adam all die,*
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 92
1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,*
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

2 To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning*
and of your faithfulness in the night season;

3 On the psaltery, and on the lyre,*
and to the melody of the harp.

4 For you have made me glad by your acts, O Lord;*
and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.

5 Lord, how great are your works!*
your thoughts are very deep.

6 The dullard does not know, nor does the fool understand,*
that though the wicked grow like weeds,
and all the workers of iniquity flourish,

7 They flourish only to be destroyed for ever;*
but you, O Lord, are exalted for evermore.

8 For lo, your enemies, O Lord,
lo, your enemies shall perish,*
and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

9 But my horn you have exalted like the horns of wild bulls;*
I am anointed with fresh oil.

10 My eyes also gloat over my enemies,*
and my ears rejoice to hear the doom of the wicked who
rise up against me.

11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,*
and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.

12 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord*
shall flourish in the courts of our God;

13 They shall still bear fruit in old age;*
they shall be green and succulent;
14 That they may show how upright the Lord is,*
my rock, in whom there is no fault.

Glory to the Father...

O Most High, at all times and in all seasons you are worthy of our grateful praise; grant us the insight to perceive the greatness of your works, the certainty of being founded on you our eternal rock, and the wisdom to sing the praises of your name, in and through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

Wisdom 10

1 Wisdom freed a holy people and a blameless race,*
from a nation of oppressors.
2 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,*
and withstood fearsome rulers with wonders and signs.
3 To the saints she gave the reward of their labours,*
and led them by a marvellous road.
4 She was their shelter by day,*
and a blaze of stars by night.
5 She brought them across the Red Sea;*
she led them through mighty waters.
6 She swallowed their enemies in the waves,*
and spat them out from the depths of the sea.
7 Then, Lord, the righteous sang the glories of your name,*
and praised together your protecting hand.
8 For wisdom opened the mouths of the silent.*
and gave speech to the tongues of her children.

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon: Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who sleep.

READING(S)

Daniel 5.13-31

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, ‘So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to give the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.’ Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, ‘Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honoured those he wanted to honour, and degraded those he wanted to degrade. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him. He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomsoever he will. And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this! You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honoured. ‘So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.’ Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

1 Letter of John 5.13-20

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal. We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Silence

Response Psalm (Psalm 96.4)

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.
He is more to be feared than all gods.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.

BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: I am the good shepherd says the Lord; alleluia!

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: I am the good shepherd says the Lord; alleluia!

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, who, in the death and resurrection of your Son, have raised up this fallen world: may we and all your people, whom you have saved from the gates of everlasting death, rejoice in your eternal presence;
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.