1O come, let us sing to the Lord; ♦
let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving ♦
and be glad in him with psalms.

3For the Lord is a great God ♦
and a great king above all gods.

4In his hand are the depths of the earth ♦
and the heights of the mountains are his also.

5The sea is his, for he made it, ♦
and his hands have moulded the dry land.

6Come, let us worship and bow down ♦
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7For he is our God; ♦
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

The canticle may end here.

8O that today you would listen to his voice: ♦
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
on that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, ♦
though they had seen my works.

10‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, ♦
“This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”

11‘So I swore in my wrath, ♦
“They shall not enter into my rest.”’

Psalm 95

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 Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 55

Refrain: Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you.

1 Hear my prayer, O God; ♦
hide not yourself from my petition.

2 Give heed to me and answer me; ♦
I am restless in my complaining.

3 I am alarmed at the voice of the enemy ♦
and at the clamour of the wicked;

4 For they would bring down evil upon me ♦
and are set against me in fury.

5 My heart is disquieted within me, ♦
and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

6 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, ♦
and a horrible dread has overwhelmed me. R

7 And I said: ‘O that I had wings like a dove, ♦
for then would I fly away and be at rest.

8 ‘Then would I flee far away ♦
and make my lodging in the wilderness.

9 ‘I would make haste to escape ♦
from the stormy wind and tempest.’

10 Confuse their tongues, O Lord, and divide them, ♦
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

11 Day and night they go about on her walls; ♦
mischief and trouble are in her midst.

12 Wickedness walks in her streets; ♦
oppression and guile never leave her squares. R

13 For it was not an open enemy that reviled me, ♦
for then I could have borne it;

14 Nor was it my adversary that puffed himself up against me, ♦
for then I would have hid myself from him.

15 But it was even you, one like myself, ♦
my companion and my own familiar friend.

16 We took sweet counsel together ♦
and walked with the multitude in the house of God.

17 Let death come suddenly upon them;
let them go down alive to the Pit; ♦
for wickedness inhabits their dwellings, their very hearts. R

18 As for me, I will call upon God ♦
and the Lord will deliver me.

19 In the evening and morning and at noonday
I will pray and make my supplication, ♦
and he shall hear my voice.

20 He shall redeem my soul in peace
from the battle waged against me, ♦
for many have come upon me.

21 God, who is enthroned of old,
will hear and bring them down; ♦
they will not repent, for they have no fear of God. R

22 My companion stretched out his hands against his friend ♦
and has broken his covenant;

23 His speech was softer than butter, though war was in his heart; ♦
his words were smoother than oil, yet are they naked swords.

24 Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you, ♦
and will not let the righteous fall for ever.

25 But those that are bloodthirsty and deceitful, O God, ♦
you will bring down to the pit of destruction.

26 They shall not live out half their days, ♦
but my trust shall be in you, O Lord.

Refrain: Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you.

Lord, in all times of fear and dread,
grant that we may so cast our burdens upon you,
that you may bear us on the holy wings of the Spirit
to the stronghold of your peace;
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.

Job 31

‘I have made a covenant with my eyes;
   how then could I look upon a virgin?
What would be my portion from God above,
   and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
Does not calamity befall the unrighteous,
   and disaster the workers of iniquity?
Does he not see my ways,
   and number all my steps?

‘If I have walked with falsehood,
   and my foot has hurried to deceit—
let me be weighed in a just balance,
   and let God know my integrity!—
if my step has turned aside from the way,
   and my heart has followed my eyes,
   and if any spot has clung to my hands;
then let me sow, and another eat;
   and let what grows for me be rooted out.

‘If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
   and I have lain in wait at my neighbour’s door;
then let my wife grind for another,
   and let other men kneel over her.
For that would be a heinous crime;
   that would be a criminal offence;
for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon,
   and it would burn to the root all my harvest.

‘If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves,
   when they brought a complaint against me;
what then shall I do when God rises up?
   When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
   And did not one fashion us in the womb?

‘If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
   or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
   and the orphan has not eaten from it—
for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father,
   and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
   or a poor person without covering,
whose loins have not blessed me,
   and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
if I have raised my hand against the orphan,
   because I saw I had supporters at the gate;
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
   and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
   and I could not have faced his majesty.

‘If I have made gold my trust,
   or called fine gold my confidence;
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
   or because my hand had acquired much;
if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
   or the moon moving in splendour,
and my heart has been secretly enticed,
   and my mouth has kissed my hand;
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
   for I should have been false to God above.

‘If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me,
   or exulted when evil overtook them—
I have not let my mouth sin
   by asking for their lives with a curse—
if those of my tent ever said,
   “O that we might be sated with his flesh!”—
the stranger has not lodged in the street;
   I have opened my doors to the traveller—
if I have concealed my transgressions as others do,
   by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
because I stood in great fear of the multitude,
   and the contempt of families terrified me,
   so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
O that I had one to hear me!
   (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
   O that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
   I would bind it on me like a crown;
I would give him an account of all my steps;
   like a prince I would approach him.

‘If my land has cried out against me,
   and its furrows have wept together;
if I have eaten its yield without payment,
   and caused the death of its owners;
let thorns grow instead of wheat,
   and foul weeds instead of barley.’

The words of Job are ended.

Canticle

A Song of Humility, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 33 (page 584), may be said

Refrain:

AllRaise us up, O God,
that we may live in your presence. Alleluia.

1Come, let us return to the Lord ♦
who has torn us and will heal us.

2God has stricken us ♦
and will bind up our wounds.

3After two days, he will revive us, ♦
and on the third day will raise us up,
that we may live in his presence.

4Let us strive to know the Lord; ♦
his appearing is as sure as the sunrise.

5He will come to us like the showers, ♦
like the spring rains that water the earth.

6‘O Ephraim, how shall I deal with you? ♦
How shall I deal with you, O Judah?

7‘Your love for me is like the morning mist, ♦
like the dew that goes early away.

8‘Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets, ♦
and my judgement goes forth as the light.

9‘For loyalty is my desire and not sacrifice, ♦
and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. ’

Hosea 6.1-6

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.

AllRaise us up, O God,
that we may live in your presence. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Romans 13.8-end

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Forsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
AllBe not far from me, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.

from Psalm 38

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or A Song of Praise (page 627) may be said

Refrain:

AllThey who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as an eagle. Alleluia.

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:

AllThey who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as an eagle. Alleluia.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ The King, members of parliament and the armed forces
¶ Peace and justice in the world
¶ Those who work for reconciliation
¶ All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
¶ Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 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

Eternal God,
who made Benedict a wise master
      in the school of your service
and a guide to many called into community
      to follow the rule of Christ:
grant that we may put your love before all else
and seek with joy the way of your commandments;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
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 Conclusion

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.