Morning Prayer: Thursday 7 January 2021

Thursday 7 January 2021

Thursday of the week of Epiphany
Incarnation

Thursday of the week of Epiphany

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: Your justice Lord dawns like morning light; its dawning is as sure as the sunrise. (Hosea 6.3)

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 85)

1 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying,*
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people.

2 Truly his salvation is very near to those who fear him,*
that his glory may dwell in our land.

3 Mercy and truth have met together;*
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

4 Truth shall spring up from the earth,*
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 99
1 The Lord is king; let the people tremble;*
he is enthroned upon the Cherubim; let the earth shake.

2 The Lord is great in Zion;*
he is high above all peoples.

3 Let them confess his name, which is great and awesome;*
he is the Holy One.

4 ‘O mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;*
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.’

5 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God
and fall down before his footstool;*
he is the Holy One.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among those who call upon his name,*
they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud;*
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.

8 ‘O Lord our God, you answered them indeed;*
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds.’

9 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God
and worship him upon his holy hill;*
for the Lord our God is the Holy One.

Glory to the Father...

Lord our God, ruler of the universe, you love what is right. Lead us in your righteousness, that we may live to praise you, through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

Isaiah 60

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,*
the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For behold darkness shall cover the earth,*
thick darkness the peoples;

3 but the Lord will arise upon you;*
God’s glory will be seen upon you.

4 Nations shall come to your light;*
kings to the brightness of your rising.

5 The sun shall be no more your light by day;*
nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night;

6 but the Lord will be your everlasting light,*
your God will be your glory

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon: Your justice Lord dawns like morning light, its dawning is as sure as the sunrise.

READING(S)

Isaiah 52.3-6

For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore on that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.

Revelation 2.1-7

‘To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.

Silence

Response Psalm (Psalm 119.130)

When your word goes forth it gives light.
When your word goes forth it gives light.
It gives understanding to the simple.
It gives light.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
When your word goes forth it gives light.

BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: Glory to Christ who is preached among the nations and believed on in the world. (from 1 Timothy 3.16)

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: Glory to Christ who is preached among the nations and believed on in the world. (from 1 Timothy 3.16)

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,
whose blessed Son, Jesus Christ, was made human,
that we might become your children:
grant that we,
being made partakers of his divine nature,
may be shaped in his likeness;
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.