Morning Prayer: Wednesday 29 March 2023

Wednesday 29 March 2023

John Keble, Priest, 1866
The Suffering Christ

Week 5 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: I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your name for evermore. Psalm 86.12

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 86)

1 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord,*
nor anything like your works.
2 All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord,*
and glorify your name.
3 For you are great; you do wondrous things;*
and you alone are God.
4 Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;*
knit my heart to you that I may fear your name.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently upon the Lord;*
he stooped to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;*
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;*
many shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Happy are they who trust in the Lord!*
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

5 Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us!*
there is none who can be compared with you.

6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!*
but they are more than I can count.

7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure*
(you have given me ears to hear you);

8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required,*
and so I said, ‘Behold, I come.

9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me:*
“I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.”’

10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation;*
behold, I did not restrain my lips; and that, O Lord, you know.

11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance;*
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the
great congregation.

12 You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me;*
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever,

13 For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see;*
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.

14 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;*
O Lord, make haste to help me.

15 Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it;*
let them draw back and be disgraced
who take pleasure in my misfortune.

16 Let those who say ‘Aha!’ and gloat over me be confounded,*
because they are ashamed.

17 Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad;*
let those who love your salvation continually say,
‘Great is the Lord!’

18 Though I am poor and afflicted,*
the Lord will have regard for me.

19 You are my helper and my deliverer;*
do not tarry, O my God.

Glory to the Father...

God our saviour, hear our prayer for all who suffer at the hands of others, and especially for those who suffer for the sake of justice. Raise and comfort them, and lead us all in the paths of loving service. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.



Conclusion

Isaiah 42

Behold my servant, whom I uphold*
my chosen, in whom
my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him*
he will bring forth justice to the nations:
He will not cry nor lift up his voice*
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break*
a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice*
he will not fail nor be discouraged,
till he has established justice in the earth*
and the coastlands wait for his law.

Glory to the Father...

Antiphon: I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your name for evermore.


READING(S)

Jeremiah 25.30-38

You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. The clamour will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgement with all flesh, and the guilty he will put to the sword, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: See, disaster is spreading from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth! Those slain by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground. Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions, and you shall fall like a choice vessel. Flight shall fail the shepherds, and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock. Hark! the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock! For the Lord is despoiling their pasture, and the peaceful folds are devastated, because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Like a lion he has left his covert; for their land has become a waste because of the cruel sword, and because of his fierce anger.


Romans 10.14-21

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’

Silence

Response Psalm (119.123)

My eyes have failed from watching for your salvation.
My eyes have failed from watching for your salvation.
And for your righteous promise.
For your salvation.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
My eyes have failed from watching for your salvation.


BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: Anyone who serves me must follow me, says the Lord, and where I am there shall my servant be also John 12.26

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: Anyone who serves me must follow me, says the Lord, and where I am there shall my servant be also John 12.26

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 God,
look upon your family as we travel to the foot of the cross:
and, by your great goodness, guide us in body;
that, by your protection,
we may also be preserved in heart and mind;
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.