¶ Morning Prayer on Thursday
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Companions of our Lord [Lesser Festival]

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 37

Refrain: The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.

1Fret not because of evildoers; •
be not jealous of those who do wrong.

2For they shall soon wither like grass •
and like the green herb fade away.

3Trust in the Lord and be doing good; •
dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.

4Let your delight be in the Lord •
and he will give you your heart’s desire.

5Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, •
and he will bring it to pass.

6He will make your righteousness as clear as the light •
and your just dealing as the noonday. R

7Be still before the Lord and wait for him; •
do not fret over those that prosper
   as they follow their evil schemes.

8Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; •
do not fret, lest you be moved to do evil.

9For evildoers shall be cut off, •
but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.

10Yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; •
you will search for their place and find them gone.

11But the lowly shall possess the land •
and shall delight in abundance of peace. R

12The wicked plot against the righteous •
and gnash at them with their teeth.

13The Lord shall laugh at the wicked, •
for he sees that their day is coming.

14The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
   to strike down the poor and needy, •
to slaughter those who walk in truth.

15Their sword shall go through their own heart •
and their bows shall be broken.

16The little that the righteous have •
is better than great riches of the wicked.

17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, •
but the Lord upholds the righteous. R

18The Lord knows the days of the godly, •
and their inheritance shall stand for ever.

19They shall not be put to shame in the perilous time, •
and in days of famine they shall have enough.

20But the wicked shall perish;
   like the glory of the meadows
   the enemies of the Lord shall vanish; •
they shall vanish like smoke.

21The wicked borrow and do not repay, •
but the righteous are generous in giving.

22For those who are blest by God shall possess the land, •
but those who are cursed by him shall be rooted out. R

23When your steps are guided by the Lord •
and you delight in his way,

24Though you stumble, you shall not fall headlong, •
for the Lord holds you fast by the hand.

25I have been young and now am old, •
yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken,
   or their children begging their bread.

26All the day long they are generous in lending, •
and their children also shall be blest. R

27Depart from evil and do good •
and you shall abide for ever.

28For the Lord loves the thing that is right •
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

29The unjust shall be destroyed for ever, •
and the offspring of the wicked shall be rooted out.

30The righteous shall possess the land •
and dwell in it for ever. R

31The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, •
and their tongue speaks the thing that is right.

32The law of their God is in their heart •
and their footsteps shall not slide.

33The wicked spy on the righteous •
and seek occasion to slay them.

34The Lord will not leave them in their hand, •
nor let them be condemned when they are judged. R

35Wait upon the Lord and keep his way; •
he will raise you up to possess the land,
   and when the wicked are uprooted, you shall see it.

36I myself have seen the wicked in great power •
and flourishing like a tree in full leaf.

37I went by and lo, they were gone; •
I sought them, but they could nowhere be found.

38Keep innocence and heed the thing that is right, •
for that will bring you peace at the last. R

39But the sinners shall perish together, •
and the posterity of the wicked shall be rooted out.

40The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; •
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

41The Lord shall stand by them and deliver them; •
he shall deliver them from the wicked and shall save them,
   because they have put their trust in him. R

Refrain: The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.

Blessed and holy God,
ever merciful and forgiving,
may we turn from what is evil
and do what is good in your sight,
for you have saved us by the cross of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Canticle

A Song of the Covenant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 44 (page 596), may be said

Refrain:

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness.

1Thus says God, who created the heavens, •
who fashioned the earth and all that dwells in it;

2Who gives breath to the people upon it •
and spirit to those who walk in it,

3 ‘I am the Lord and I have called you in righteousness, •
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

4 ‘I have given you as a covenant to the people, •
a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,

5‘To bring out the captives from the dungeon, •
from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

6‘I am the Lord, that is my name; •
my glory I give to no other.’

Isaiah 42.5-8a

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 have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

1 Samuel 17.1-30

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’ And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.’

Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. David rose early in the morning, left someone in charge of the sheep, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. The Israelites said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.’ David said to the men who stood by him, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ The people answered him in the same way, ‘So shall it be done for the man who kills him.’

His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, ‘Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.’ David said, ‘What have I done now? It was only a question.’ He turned away from him towards another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.

Luke 23.56b - 24.12

Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.

On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

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

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God's Glory) (page 635) may be said

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

God our Father,
whose Son enjoyed the love of his friends,
      Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
in learning, argument and hospitality:
may we so rejoice in your love
that the world may come to know
      the depths of your wisdom, the wonder of your compassion,
      and your power to bring life out of death;
through the merits of Jesus Christ,
our friend and brother,
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