O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
Reveal among us the light of your presence
Allthat we may behold your
power and glory.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or A Song of the King’s Glory
1The earth is the Lord’s
and all that fills it, ♦
the compass of the world and all who dwell therein.
2For he has founded it
upon the seas ♦
and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3‘Who shall ascend
the hill of the Lord, ♦
or who can rise up in his holy place?’
4‘Those who have
clean hands and a pure heart, ♦
who have not lifted up their soul to an idol,
nor sworn an oath to a lie;
5‘They shall receive
a blessing from the Lord, ♦
a just reward from the God of their salvation.’
6Such is the company of
those who seek him, ♦
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7Lift up your heads,
O gates;
be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.
8‘Who is the King
of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord who is mighty in battle.’
9Lift up your heads,
O gates;
be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.
10‘Who is this King
of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.’
Psalm 24
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.
1 As the deer longs for the water brooks, ♦
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; ♦
when shall I come before the presence of God?
3 My tears have been my bread day and night, ♦
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
4 Now 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,
5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, ♦
among those who kept holy day.
6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7 O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
8 My soul is heavy within me; ♦
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
and from Hermon and the hill of Mizar.
9 Deep calls to deep in the thunder of your waterfalls; ♦
all your breakers and waves have gone over me.
10 The Lord will grant his loving-kindness in the daytime; ♦
through the night his song will be with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
11 I say to God my rock,
‘Why have you forgotten me, ♦
and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?’
12 As they crush my bones, my enemies mock me; ♦
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
13 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
14 O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Come, creator Spirit, source of life;
sustain us when our hearts are heavy
and our wells have run dry,
for you are the Father’s gift,
with him who is our living water,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Give judgement for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people; ♦
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
2 For you are the God of my refuge;
why have you cast me from you, ♦
and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?
3 O send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, ♦
and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling,
4 That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness; ♦
and on the lyre I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
5 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
6 O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Come, creator Spirit, light and truth;
bring us to the altar of life
and renew our joy and gladness
in 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.
Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not come to us;
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter’;
therefore thus says the Lord God,
See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’
And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.
Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
you will be beaten down by it.
As often as it passes through, it will take you;
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.
For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim,
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
and to work his work—alien is his work!
Now therefore do not scoff,
or your bonds will be made stronger;
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.
Listen, and hear my voice;
Pay attention, and hear my speech.
Do those who plough for sowing plough continually?
Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
When they have levelled its surface,
do they not scatter dill, sow cummin,
and plant wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and spelt as the border?
For they are well instructed;
their God teaches them.
Dill is not threshed with a threshing-sledge,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin;
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cummin with a rod.
Grain is crushed for bread,
but one does not thresh it for ever;
one drives the cartwheel and horses over it,
but does not pulverize it.
This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel,
and excellent in wisdom.
A Song of the Wilderness, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 30 (page 581) or number 49 (page 601), may be said
Refrain:
AllLift up your voice with
strength,
O herald of good tidings. Alleluia.
1The wilderness and the
dry land shall rejoice, ♦
the desert shall blossom and burst into song.
2They shall see the glory
of the Lord, ♦
the majesty of our God.
3Strengthen the weary
hands, ♦
and make firm the feeble knees.
4Say to the anxious,
‘Be strong, fear not,
your God is coming with judgement, ♦
coming with judgement to save you.’
5Then shall the eyes
of the blind be opened, ♦
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6Then shall the lame
leap like a hart, ♦
and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.
7For waters shall break
forth in the wilderness, ♦
and streams in the desert;
8The ransomed of the
Lord shall return with singing, ♦
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
9Joy and gladness shall
be theirs, ♦
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35.1, 2b-4a, 4c-6, 10
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.
AllLift up your voice with
strength,
O herald of good tidings. Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’
Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’
He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.”
With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Now it is time to awake out of sleep,
Allfor the night is far
spent and the day is at hand.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed,
Allfor the night is far
spent.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
Allfor the day is at hand.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh,
Allfor the night is far
spent and the day is at hand.
from Romans 13
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or A Song of Redemption (page 620) may be said
Refrain:
All Look
towards the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the glory that is coming from 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:
All Look
towards the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the glory that is coming from God.
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 Church, that she may be ready for the
coming of Christ
¶ The leaders of the Church
¶ The nations, that they may be subject to the
rule of God
¶ Those who are working for justice in the world
¶ The broken, that they may find God’s
healing
A form of prayer found 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
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him 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
Awaiting his coming in glory,
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)
Awaiting his coming in glory,
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 the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
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.