O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
Your faithful servants bless you.
AllThey make known the
glory of your kingdom. Alleluia.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
ruler and judge of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of this age that is passing away
may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy
surround our steps as we journey on.
May we reflect your glory this day
and so be made ready to see your face
in the heavenly city where night shall be no more.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or A Song of Trust in God
1As the deer longs for
the water brooks, ♦
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2My soul is athirst for
God, even for the living God; ♦
when shall I come before the presence of God?
3My tears have been my
bread day and night, ♦
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
4Now when I think on
these things, I pour out my soul: ♦
how I went with the multitude
and led the procession to the house of God,
5With the voice of praise
and thanksgiving, ♦
among those who kept holy day.
6Why are you so full
of heaviness, O my soul, ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7O put your trust in
God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 42.1-7
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: The Lord’s throne is in heaven.
1 In the Lord have I taken refuge; ♦
how then can you say to me,
‘Flee like a bird to the hills,
2 ‘For see how the wicked bend the bow
and fit their arrows to the string, ♦
to shoot from the shadows at the true of heart.
3 ‘When the foundations are destroyed, ♦
what can the righteous do?’ R
4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ♦
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
5 His eyes behold, ♦
his eyelids try every mortal being.
6 The Lord tries the righteous as well as the wicked, ♦
but those who delight in violence his soul abhors.
7 Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire
and burning sulphur; ♦
scorching wind shall be their portion to drink.
8 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds, ♦
and those who are upright shall behold his face.
Refrain: The Lord’s throne is in heaven.
God of heaven,
when the foundations are shaken
and there is no escape,
test us, but not to destruction,
look on the face of your anointed
and heal us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Refrain: Through
the greatness of your mercy,
I will come into your house.
1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? ♦
Who may rest upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads an uncorrupt life ♦
and does the thing that is right;
3 Who speaks the truth from the heart ♦
and bears no deceit on the tongue;
4 Who does no evil to a friend ♦
and pours no scorn on a neighbour;
5 In whose sight the wicked are not esteemed, ♦
but who honours those who fear the Lord.
6 Whoever has sworn to a neighbour ♦
and never goes back on that word;
7 Who does not lend money in hope of gain, ♦
nor takes a bribe against the innocent;
8 Whoever does these things ♦
shall never fall.
Refrain: Through
the greatness of your mercy,
I will come into your house.
Lord, lead us to our heavenly home
by single steps of self-restraint
and deeds of righteousness;
through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Refrain: O praise the name of the Lord.
1 Alleluia.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; ♦
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels; ♦
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; ♦
praise him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, ♦
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord; ♦
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He made them fast for ever and ever; ♦
he gave them a law which shall not pass away. R
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ♦
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and mist, ♦
tempestuous wind, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills, ♦
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle, ♦
creeping things and birds on the wing;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, ♦
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and women,
old and young together; ♦
let them praise the name of the Lord.
13 For his name only is exalted, ♦
his splendour above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up the horn of his people
and praise for all his faithful servants, ♦
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Alleluia.
Refrain: O praise the name of the Lord.
O glorious God,
your whole creation sings your marvellous work;
may heaven’s praise so echo in our hearts
that we may be good stewards of the earth;
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.
For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up and high;
against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the high mountains,
and against all the lofty hills;
against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,
and the pride of everyone shall be brought low;
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
The idols shall utterly pass away.
Enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
from the terror of the Lord,
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
On that day people will throw away
to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts in the crags,
from the terror of the Lord,
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
Turn away from mortals,
who have only breath in their nostrils,
for of what account are they?
A Song of the New Creation, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 28 (page 579), number 46 (page 598) or number 47 (page 599), may be said
Refrain:
AllI will make a way in the
wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. Alleluia.
1‘I am the Lord, your
Holy One, ♦
the Creator of Israel, your King.’
2Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea, ♦
a path in the mighty waters,
3‘Remember not the former
things, ♦
nor consider the things of old.
4‘Behold, I am doing
a new thing; ♦
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
5‘I will make a way in
the wilderness
and rivers in the desert, ♦
to give drink to my chosen people,
6‘The people whom I formed
for myself, ♦
that they might declare my praise.’
Isaiah 43.15, 16, 18, 19, 20c, 21
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.
AllI will make a way in the
wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan,
and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord,
Allmy lips shall proclaim
your faithfulness.
The heavens bear witness to your wonders;
AllI will sing for ever
of your love, O Lord.
The assembly of your saints proclaims your truth;
Allmy lips shall proclaim
your faithfulness.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
AllI will sing for ever
of your love, O Lord,
my lips shall proclaim your faithfulness.
from Psalm 89
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or the Te Deum Laudamus (A Song
of the Church) (page 636) may be said
Refrain:
AllYou will guide us with your
counsel, O God,
and afterwards receive us with glory.
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:
AllYou will guide us with your
counsel, O God,
and afterwards receive us with glory.
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 364–365
¶ The saints on earth, that they may live as
citizens of heaven
¶ All people, that they may hear and believe
the word of God
¶ All who fear the winter months
¶ All sovereigns and political leaders, that
they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
¶ All who grieve or wait with the dying
A form of prayer found on page 384 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
Almighty and eternal God,
you have kindled the flame of love
in the hearts of the saints:
grant to us the same faith and power of love,
that, as we rejoice in their triumphs,
we may be sustained by their example and fellowship;
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
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven,
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)
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven,
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.
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
©
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from
Church House Publishing.
The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.