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STAND
Invitatory
Leader: Lord, + open my lips.
All: And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Leader: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Leader: Come, let us sing to the Lord
All: and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
All: The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
All: Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
All: Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
All: Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger,
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
All: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.Hymn
The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by whom all things were made,
Himself has fasted and has prayed.
Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.
So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
Deliver’d from the lions’ might;
And John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became
The herald of Messiah’s name.
Then grant us, Lord, like them to do
Such things as bring great praise to you;
Our spirits strengthen with your grace
And give us joy to see your face.
O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
To you be every prayer addressed
And by all mankind be adored,
From age to age, the only Lord.
Tune: Erhalt’ uns, Herr L.M.
Music: J. Klug’s Geistliche Lieder, 1547
Text: Latin, sixth century
Translation: Maurice F. Bell, 1906, alt.SIT
Psalmody
Leader: O God, all your ways are holy; what god can compare with our God?
Psalm 77
Recalling God’s works
We suffer all kinds of afflictions, and yet are not overcome (2 Corinthians 4:8).
Leader: I cry aloud to God,
Side 1: cry aloud to God that he may hear me.
Side 1: In the day of my distress I sought the Lord.
My hands were raised at night without ceasing;
my soul refused to be consoled.
I remembered my God and I groaned.
I pondered and my spirit fainted.
Side 2: You withheld sleep from my eyes.
I was troubled, I could not speak.
I thought of the days of long ago
and remembered the years long past.
At night I mused within my heart.
I pondered and my spirit questioned.
Side 1: “Will the Lord reject us for ever?
Will he show us his favor no more?
Has his love vanished for ever?
Has his promise come to an end?
Does God forget his mercy
or in anger withhold his compassion?”
Side 2: I said: “This is what causes my grief;
that the way of the Most High has changed.”
I remember the deeds of the Lord,
I remember your wonders of old,
I muse on all your works
and ponder your mighty deeds.
Side 1: Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders.
You showed your power among the peoples.
Your strong arm redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
Side 2: The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled;
the depths were moved with terror.
The clouds poured down rain,
the skies sent forth their voice;
your arrows flashed to and fro.
Side 1: Your thunder rolled round the sky,
your flashes lighted up the world.
The earth was moved and trembled
when your way led through the sea,
your path through the mighty waters
and no one saw your footprints.
Side 2: You guided your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: O God, all your ways are holy; what god can compare with our God?
Leader: My heart leaps up with joy to the Lord, for he humbles only to exalt us.
Canticle: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
The humble find joy in God
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things (Luke 1:52-53).
Leader: My heart exults in the Lord,
Side 1: my horn is exalted in my God.
Side 2: I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory.
There is no Holy One like the Lord;
there is no Rock like our God.
Side 1: Speak boastfully no longer,
nor let arrogance issue from your mouths.
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
a God who judges deeds.
Side 2: The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.
Side 1: The Lord puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, he also exalts.
Side 2: He raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap he lifts up the poor,
to seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.
Side 1: For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s.
and he has set the world upon them.
He will guard the footsteps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall perish in the darkness.
For not by strength does man prevail;
the Lord’s foes shall be shattered.
Side 2: The Most High in heaven thunders;
the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
Now may he give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed!
Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: My heart leaps up with joy to the Lord, for he humbles only to exalt us.
Leader: The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice.
Psalm 97
The glory of the Lord in his decrees for the world
This psalm foretells a world-wide salvation and that peoples of all nations will believe in Christ (Saint Anthanasius).
Leader: The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
Side 1: let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
Side 2: A fire prepares his path;
it burns up his foes on every side.
His lightnings light up the world,
the earth trembles at the sight.
Side 1: The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
Side 2: Let those who serve idols be ashamed,
those who boast of their worthless gods.
All you spirits, worship him.
Side 1: Zion hears and is glad;
the people of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.
Side 2: For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.
Side 1: The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the souls of his saints;
he sets them free from the wicked.
Side 2: Light shines forth for the just
and joy for the upright of heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord;
give glory to his holy name.
Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice.Reading
Deuteronomy 7:6, 8-9
Lector: The Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, then, that the Lord, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments.Responsory
Lector: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
Lector: From those who would trap me with lying words
All: and from the hunter’s snare.
Lector: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.STAND
Gospel Canticle
Leader:The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner
Leader: Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel;
All: he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: The Son of Man All: did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.Intercessions
Leader: Let us give thanks to God, our Father: through the power of the Spirit he purifies our hearts and strengthens us in love. Let us humbly ask him:
All: Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.
Leader: Help us to receive good things from your bounty with a deep sense of gratitude;
All: and to accept with patience the evil that comes to us.
Leader: Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments,
All: but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.
Leader: May we abstain from what we do not really need,
All: and help our brothers and sisters in distress.
Leader: May we bear the wounds of your Son,
All: for through his body he gave us life.The Lord's Prayer
Leader: Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us how to pray:
Leader: Our Father, All: 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.Concluding Prayer
Leader: Father,
teach us to lead good lives,
encourage us with your support
and bring us to eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.Dismissal
If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.
Leader: May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader: Go in peace.
All: Thanks be to God.
In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Morning Prayer concludes:
Leader: May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.