¶ Morning Prayer
Passiontide
Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Let your ways be known upon earth,
Allyour saving power among the nations.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief
your only Son was lifted up
that he might draw the whole world to himself.
May we walk this day in the way of the cross
and always be ready to share its weight,
declaring your love for all the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or A Song of Lamentation

1Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? ♦
Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,

2Which was brought upon me, ♦
which the Lord inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger.

3For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears; ♦
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my courage.

4Remember my affliction and my bitterness, ♦
the wormwood and the gall!

5But this I call to mind, ♦
and therefore I have hope:

6The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, ♦
his mercies never come to an end;

7They are new every morning; ♦
great is your faithfulness.

8‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ♦
‘therefore I will hope in him.’

9The Lord is good to those who wait for him, ♦
to the soul that seeks him.

10It is good that we should wait quietly ♦
for the salvation of the Lord.

11For the Lord will not reject for ever; ♦
though he causes grief, he will have compassion,

12According to the abundance of his steadfast love; ♦
for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

Lamentations 1.12, 16a,b; 3.19, 21-26, 31-33

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 35

Refrain: Give me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those that contend with me; ♦
fight against those that fight against me.

2 Take up shield and buckler ♦
and rise up to help me.

3 Draw the spear and bar the way
against those who pursue me; ♦
say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’

4 Let those who seek after my life be shamed and disgraced; ♦
let those who plot my ruin fall back and be put to confusion.

5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, ♦
with the angel of the Lord thrusting them down.

6 Let their way be dark and slippery, ♦
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. R

7 For they have secretly spread a net for me without a cause; ♦
without any cause they have dug a pit for my soul.

8 Let ruin come upon them unawares; ♦
let them be caught in the net they laid;
let them fall in it to their destruction.

9 Then will my soul be joyful in the Lord ♦
and glory in his salvation.

10 My very bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like you? ♦
You deliver the poor from those that are too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who would despoil them.’ R

11 False witnesses rose up against me; ♦
they charged me with things I knew not.

12 They rewarded me evil for good, ♦
to the desolation of my soul.

13 But as for me, when they were sick I put on sackcloth ♦
and humbled myself with fasting;

14 When my prayer returned empty to my bosom, ♦
it was as though I grieved for my friend or brother;

15 I behaved as one who mourns for his mother, ♦
bowed down and brought very low. R

16 But when I stumbled, they gathered in delight;
they gathered together against me; ♦
as if they were strangers I did not know
they tore at me without ceasing.

17 When I fell they mocked me; ♦
they gnashed at me with their teeth.

18 O Lord, how long will you look on? ♦
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
and my poor life from the young lions.

19 I will give you thanks in the great congregation; ♦
I will praise you in the mighty throng. R

20 Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, ♦
or those who hate me without a cause
mock me with their glances.

21 For they do not speak of peace, ♦
but invent deceitful schemes against those
that are quiet in the land.

22 They opened wide their mouths and derided me, saying ♦
‘We have seen it with our very eyes.’

23 This you have seen, O Lord; do not keep silent; ♦
go not far from me, O Lord.

24 Awake, arise, to my cause, ♦
to my defence, my God and my Lord!

25 Give me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness; ♦
let them not triumph over me. R

26 Let them not say to themselves,
‘Our heart’s desire!’ ♦
Let them not say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’

27 Let all who rejoice at my trouble be put to shame and confusion; ♦
let those who boast against me
be clothed with shame and dishonour.

28 Let those who favour my cause rejoice and be glad; ♦
let them say always,
‘Great is the Lord, who delights in his servant’s well-being.’

29 So shall my tongue be talking of your righteousness ♦
and of your praise all the day long.

Refrain: Give me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness.

Free us, righteous God, from all oppression,
and bring justice to the nations,
that all the world may know you
as King of kings and Lord of lords,
now and for ever.

Psalm 123

Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.

1 To you I lift up my eyes, ♦
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.

2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, ♦
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

3 So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, ♦
until he have mercy upon us. R

4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, ♦
for we have had more than enough of contempt.

5 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, ♦
and of the contempt of the proud.

Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.

Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens,
look upon us with your eyes of mercy,
as we look on you with humility and love,
and fill our souls with 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.

Jeremiah 22.1-5, 13-19

Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
   and his upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbours work for nothing,
   and does not give them their wages;
who says, ‘I will build myself a spacious house
   with large upper rooms’,
and who cuts out windows for it,
   panelling it with cedar,
   and painting it with vermilion.
Are you a king
   because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
   and do justice and righteousness?
   Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
   then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
   says the Lord.
But your eyes and heart
   are only on your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
   and for practising oppression and violence.

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:
They shall not lament for him, saying,
   ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
   ‘Alas, lord!’ or ‘Alas, his majesty!’
With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried—
   dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

Canticle

A Song of the Lord’s Gracious Deeds, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 23 (page 574), number 42 (page 593) or number 43 (page 594), may be said

Refrain:

AllI will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praises of the Most High. Alleluia.

1Who is this that comes from Edom, ♦
coming from Bozrah, his garments stained crimson?

2Who is this in glorious apparel, ♦
marching in the greatness of his strength?

3‘It is I, who announce that right has won the day, ♦
it is I,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am mighty to save.’

4Why are your robes all red, O Lord, ♦
and your garments like theirs who tread the winepress?

5‘I have trodden the winepress alone, ♦
and from the peoples no one was with me.’

6I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, ♦
the praises of the Most High;

7All that God has done for us in his mercy, ♦
by his many acts of love.

8For God said, ‘Surely, they are my people,
my children who will not deal falsely,’ ♦
and he became their Saviour in all their distress.

9So God redeemed them by his love and pity; ♦
he lifted them up and carried them
through all the days of old.

Isaiah 63.1-3a, 7-9

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 recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praises of the Most High. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

John 11.45-end

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’ He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?’ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

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

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;
Allby your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
AllWe adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
We preach Christ crucified,
the power of God and the wisdom of God.
AllBy your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
AllWe adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;
by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

cf 1 Corinthians 1 and Galatians 6

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllThe word of the cross is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to those who are being saved
it is the power of God.

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:

AllThe word of the cross is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to those who are being saved
it is the power of God.

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 364–365

¶ The persecuted Church
¶ The oppressed peoples of the world
¶ All who are lonely
¶ All who are near to death
¶ All who are facing loss

A form of prayer found on page 381 may be used.

The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.

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

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
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

Standing at the foot of the cross,
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)

Standing at the foot of the cross,
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

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross,
set us free to serve him with joy.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.