O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
One or more of the following is said
or sung:
a prayer of thanksgiving (page
109),
a suitable hymn,
or A Song of God’s Compassion
1The Lord is full of
compassion and mercy, •
slow to anger and of great kindness.
2He will not always accuse
us, •
neither will he keep his anger for ever.
3He has not dealt with
us according to our sins, •
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
4For as the heavens are
high above the earth, •
so great is his mercy upon those who fear him.
5As far as the east is
from the west, •
so far has he set our sins from us.
6As a father has compassion
on his children, •
so is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.
7For he knows of what
we are made; •
he remembers that we are but dust.
8Our days are but as
grass; •
we flourish as a flower of the field;
9For as soon as the wind
goes over it, it is gone, •
and its place shall know it no more.
10But the merciful goodness
of the Lord is from of old
and endures for ever on those who fear him, •
and his righteousness on children’s children;
11On those who keep his
covenant •
and remember his commandments to do them.
Psalm 103.8-18
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: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.
1To you I lift up my eyes, •
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
2As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, •
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
3So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, •
until he have mercy upon us. R
4Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, •
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
5Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, •
and of the contempt of the proud. R
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.
Refrain: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
1If the Lord himself had not been on our side, •
now may Israel say;
2If the Lord had not been on our side, •
when enemies rose up against us;
3Then would they have swallowed us alive •
when their anger burned against us; R
4Then would the waters have overwhelmed us
and the torrent gone over our soul; •
over our soul would have swept the raging waters.
5But blessed be the Lord •
who has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
6Our soul has escaped
as a bird from the snare of the fowler; •
the snare is broken and we are delivered.
7Our help is in the name of the Lord, •
who has made heaven and earth.
Refrain: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
O God, maker of heaven and earth,
you save us in the water of baptism
and by the suffering of your Son you set us free;
help us to put our trust in his victory
and to know the salvation won for us
by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Refrain: Glorious
things are spoken of you,
Zion, city of our God.
1Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, •
which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.
2As the hills stand about Jerusalem, •
so the Lord stands round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
3The sceptre of wickedness shall not hold sway
over the land allotted to the righteous, •
lest the righteous turn their hands to evil.
4Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, •
and to those who are true of heart.
5Those who turn aside to crooked ways
the Lord shall take away with the evildoers; •
but let there be peace upon Israel. R
Refrain: Glorious
things are spoken of you,
Zion, city of our God.
God of power,
you are strong to save
and you never fail those who trust in you;
keep us under your protection
and spread abroad your reign of peace
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Refrain: The Lord has indeed done great things for us.
1When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, •
then were we like those who dream.
2Then was our mouth filled with laughter •
and our tongue with songs of joy.
3Then said they among the nations, •
‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
4The Lord has indeed done great things for us, •
and therefore we rejoiced.
5Restore again our fortunes, O Lord, •
as the river beds of the desert.
6Those who sow in tears •
shall reap with songs of joy.
7Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed, •
will come back with shouts of joy,
bearing their sheaves with them. R
Refrain: The Lord has indeed done great things for us.
Lord, as you send rain and flowers
even to the wilderness,
renew us by your Holy Spirit,
help us to sow good seed in time of adversity
and to live to rejoice in your good harvest of all creation;
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.
A Song of Deliverance, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 40 (page 591), may be said
Refrain:
AllAll the earth, shout and
sing for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One.
1‘Behold, God is my salvation;
•
I will trust and will not be afraid;
2‘For the Lord
God is my strength and my song, •
and has become my salvation.’
3With joy you will draw
water •
from the wells of salvation.
4On that day you will
say, •
‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
5‘Make known his deeds
among the nations, •
proclaim that his name is exalted.
6‘Sing God’s praises,
who has triumphed gloriously; •
let this be known in all the world.
7‘Shout and sing for
joy, you that dwell in Zion, •
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.‘
Isaiah 12.2-6
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.
AllAll the earth, shout and
sing for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ‘In Jerusalem I will put my name.’ He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He made his son pass through fire; he practised soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. The carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, ‘In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever; I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.’ But they did not listen; Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
The Lord said by his servants the prophets, ‘Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these abominations, has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has caused Judah also to sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line for Samaria, and the plummet for the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies; they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors came out of Egypt, even to this day.’
Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he caused Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave-traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
In all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make straight your paths.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
AllTrust in the Lord with
all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
from Proverbs 3
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:
All
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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
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
Lord, give to your people grace to hear and keep your word
that, after the example of your servant William Tyndale,
we may not only profess your gospel
but also be ready to suffer and die for it,
to the honour of your name;
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 Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.