Thursday, 23 December 2010

¶Morning Prayer
Advent

Preparation

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 Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 128

Refrain:How abundant is your goodness, O Lord.

 

1Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, •
and walk in his ways.

2You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; •
it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be. R

3Your wife within your house
shall be like a fruitful vine; •
your children round your table,
like fresh olive branches.

4Thus shall the one be blest •
who fears the Lord. R

5The Lord from out of Zion bless you, •
that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity
all the days of your life.

6May you see your children’s children, •
and may there be peace upon Israel. R

 

Refrain:How abundant is your goodness, O Lord.

 

O Christ, our true vine,
may we your branches
be ever fruitful in your service
and share your love and peace with all your children,
in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.

 

Psalm 129

Refrain:The Lord ransoms the life of his servants.

 

1‘Many a time have they fought against me from my youth,’ •
may Israel now say;

2‘Many a time have they fought against me from my youth, •
but they have not prevailed against me.’

3The ploughers ploughed upon my back •
and made their furrows long.

4But the righteous Lord •
has cut the cords of the wicked in pieces. R

5Let them be put to shame and turned backwards, •
as many as are enemies of Zion.

6Let them be like grass upon the housetops, •
which withers before it can grow,

7So that no reaper can fill his hand, •
nor a binder of sheaves his bosom;

8And none who go by may say,
‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you. •
We bless you in the name of the Lord.’ R

 

Refrain:The Lord ransoms the life of his servants.

 

Jesus our redeemer,
you bore the cut of the lash
for us and our salvation;
help us to bear our sufferings
and to share in the affliction
of all who suffer for your holy name.

 

Psalm 130

Refrain:My soul waits for the Lord.

 

1Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice; •
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss, •
O Lord, who could stand?

3But there is forgiveness with you, •
so that you shall be feared.

4I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; •
in his word is my hope.

5My soul waits for the Lord,
more than the night watch for the morning, •
more than the night watch for the morning.

6O Israel, wait for the Lord, •
for with the Lord there is mercy;

7With him is plenteous redemption •
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. R

 

Refrain:My soul waits for the Lord.

 

Father, we commend to your faithful love
those who are crying from the depths;
help them to watch and pray
through their time of darkness,
in sure hope of the dawn of your
forgiveness and redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Psalm 131

Refrain:O Israel, trust in the Lord.

 

1O Lord, my heart is not proud; •
my eyes are not raised in haughty looks.

2I do not occupy myself with great matters, •
with things that are too high for me.

3But I have quieted and stilled my soul,
like a weaned child on its mother’s breast; •
so my soul is quieted within me.

4O Israel, trust in the Lord, •
from this time forth for evermore. R

 

Refrain:O Israel, trust in the Lord.

 

Eternal God,
calm and quieten our souls;
keep us humble and full of wonder
and trusting as we live in your love;
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.

Canticle

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.

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.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

 

Isaiah 56.1-8

 

Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
‘I am just a dry tree.’
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

 

 

 

2 Peter 3

 

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water,through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

 

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

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or A Song of Redemption (page 620) may be said

Refrain:

AllLook 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:

AllLook towards the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the glory that is coming from God.

Prayers

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

God our redeemer,
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour,
so we may be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our judge;
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.

The Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000-2005
All of the official Common Worship publications are being published by 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.