O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
One or more of the following is said
or sung:
a prayer
of thanksgiving (page 109),
a suitable hymn,
or A Song of God’s Righteousness
1Bless the Lord, O my
soul, •
and all that is within me bless his holy name.
2Bless the Lord, O my
soul, •
and forget not all his benefits;
3Who forgives all your
sins •
and heals all your infirmities;
4Who redeems your life
from the Pit •
and crowns you with faithful love and compassion;
5Who satisfies you with
good things, •
so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6The Lord executes righteousness
•
and judgement for all who are oppressed.
7He made his ways known
to Moses •
and his works to the children of Israel.
8The Lord has established
his throne in heaven, •
and his kingdom has dominion over all.
9Bless the Lord, you
angels of his, •
you mighty ones who do his bidding
and hearken to the voice of his word.
10Bless the Lord, all
you his hosts, •
you ministers of his who do his will.
11Bless the Lord, all
you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; •
bless the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 103.1-7, 19-22
AllGlory 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.
This opening prayer may be said
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The appointed psalmody is said.
Refrain: Arise, O Lord, into your resting place.
1 Lord, remember for David •
all the hardships he endured;
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord •
and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 ‘I will not come within the shelter of my house, •
nor climb up into my bed;
4 ‘I will not allow my eyes to sleep, •
nor let my eyelids slumber,
5 ‘Until I find a place for the Lord, •
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ R
6 Now, we heard of the ark in Ephrathah •
and found it in the fields of Ja-ar.
7 Let us enter his dwelling place •
and fall low before his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, into your resting place, •
you and the ark of your strength.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness •
and your faithful ones sing with joy.
10 For your servant David’s sake, •
turn not away the face of your anointed. R
11 The Lord has sworn an oath to David, •
a promise from which he will not shrink:
12 ‘Of the fruit of your body •
shall I set upon your throne.
13 ‘If your children keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them, •
their children also shall sit upon your throne for evermore.’
14 For the Lord has chosen Zion for himself; •
he has desired her for his habitation: R
15 ‘This shall be my resting place for ever; •
here will I dwell, for I have longed for her.
16 ‘I will abundantly bless her provision; •
her poor will I satisfy with bread.
17 ‘I will clothe her priests with salvation, •
and her faithful ones shall rejoice and sing.
18 ‘There will I make a horn to spring up for David; •
I will keep a lantern burning for my anointed.
19 ‘As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame; •
but on him shall his crown be bright.’
Refrain: Arise, O Lord, into your resting place.
Jesus, Son of David,
make us a priestly people;
clothe us in righteousness,
make us fruitful,
and give us hearts to shout for joy in your salvation;
we pray in the power of the Spirit.
Refrain: Mercy
and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
1 Behold how good and pleasant it is •
to dwell together in unity.
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, •
running down upon the beard,
3 Even on Aaron’s beard, •
running down upon the collar of his clothing.
4 It is like the dew of Hermon •
running down upon the hills of Zion.
5 For there the Lord has promised his blessing: •
even life for evermore.
Refrain: Mercy
and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Grant to your people, good Lord,
the spirit of unity,
that they may dwell together in your love,
and so bear to the world
the ointment of your healing and the
dew of your blessing;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
AllGlory 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.
If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.
One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.’
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him.
When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads.
They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
A Song of Peace, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 26 (page 577), may be said
Refrain:
AllSpirit of God, teach us
your ways,
that we may walk in the paths of peace. Alleluia.
1Come, let us go up to
the mountain of God, •
to the house of the God of Jacob;
2That God may teach us
his ways, •
and that we may walk in his paths.
3For the law shall go
out from Zion, •
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4God shall judge between
the nations, •
and shall mediate for many peoples.
5They shall beat their
swords into ploughshares, •
and their spears into pruning hooks.
6Nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, •
neither shall they learn war any more.
7O people of Jacob, come:
•
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah 2.3-5
AllGlory 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.
AllSpirit of God, teach us
your ways,
that we may walk in the paths of peace. Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practise such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practise them.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Open my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
Lead me in the path of your commandments
Allthat I may see the wonders
of your law.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllOpen my eyes, O Lord
that I may see the wonders of your law.
from Psalm 119
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
is normally said,
or The Song of Christ's Glory (page
619) may be said
Refrain:
AllIn
your tender compassion, O God,
the dawn from on high shall break upon us.
1Blessed be the Lord
the God of Israel, •
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for
us a mighty Saviour, •
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets
God promised of old •
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our
ancestors, •
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God
swore to our father Abraham: •
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him
without fear, •
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall
be called the prophet of the Most High, •
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge
of salvation •
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion
of our God •
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To shine on those who
dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, •
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
AllGlory 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.
Refrain:
AllIn
your tender compassion, O God,
the dawn from on high shall break upon us.
Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life
The cycle on pages 364–365 and the prayer on page 377 may be used.
These responses may be used
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
(or)
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
(or)
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002-2011.