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January
31
2019

Morning Prayer, 3rd Thursday in Ordinary Time

 

Please feel free to pause the service at any point if you would like more time to pray or to reflect.

 

OPENING SENTENCES

O Lord, open our lips.

And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Be willing, O God, to deliver us!

O Lord, come quickly to our help!

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.  (Mark 1:15)

THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. AMEN.

THE MORNING PSALM

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath,

“They shall not enter my rest.”  (Psalm 95:1-11)

THE PSALTER

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

give ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

Enter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous before you.

For the enemy has pursued my soul;

he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.                                                  Selah

Answer me quickly, O Lord!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

on level ground!

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your servant.

THE PSALM PRAYER

O God, hear our prayers and receive our complaints; refuse us not for your righteousness’ sake. Enter not into judgment with us, your servants, for we know that if you deal with us strictly, no one, not even the most holy, may stand in judgment before you. Teach us, therefore, O Father, to do your will, and let your Holy Spirit lead us in all our ways, that they may be agreeable to your law, and that through Jesus Christ your Son. AMEN.

THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON

A reading from Isaiah, chapter 49:

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the Lord has comforted his people

and will have compassion on his afflicted.

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

Your builders make haste;

your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

Lift up your eyes around and see;

they all gather, they come to you.

As I live, declares the Lord,

you shall put them all on as an ornament;

you shall bind them on as a bride does.

Surely your waste and your desolate places

and your devastated land—

surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

The children of your bereavement

will yet say in your ears:

‘The place is too narrow for me;

make room for me to dwell in.’

Then you will say in your heart:

‘Who has borne me these?

I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and put away,

but who has brought up these?

Behold, I was left alone;

from where have these come?’ ”

Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

and raise my signal to the peoples;

and they shall bring your sons in their arms,

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

Kings shall be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,

and lick the dust of your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;

those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

For thus says the Lord:

“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,

and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,

for I will contend with those who contend with you,

and I will save your children.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.

Then all flesh shall know

that I am the Lord your Savior,

and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”  (Isaiah 49:13-26)

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

THE CANTICLE                                              The Song of Hannah

My heart exults in the Lord;

my horn is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

There is none holy like the Lord:

for there is none besides you;

there is no rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly,

let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble bind on strength.

The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low and he exalts.

He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

and on them he has set the world.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.


 

THE EPISTLE LESSON

A reading from Galatians, chapter 3:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.  (Galatians 3:1-14)

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

THE MORNING PRAYERS

The Prayers for Grace

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray that you will so guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Loving God, through your Son you have called on all people to repent of their sin, to believe in the Gospel, and to celebrate the coming of your Kingdom. Like Jesus’ first disciples, grant that we may we hear his call to follow him, and, forsaking our own way, proclaim the Good News of peace, happiness, and salvation, found in Christ alone, in whose name we pray. AMEN.

Thursday Morning Prayers

Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us; let your peace rule in our hearts, and may it be our strength and our song. We commit ourselves to your care and keeping this day; let your grace be mighty in us and sufficient for us. Keep us from sin; give us the rule over our own spirits; and prevent us from speaking unwisely with our lips. May we live together in peace and holy love, and be pleased to commend your blessing upon us, even life for evermore. Prepare us for all the events of the day; for its joys as well as for its trials, and grant that we may be seeking first your Kingdom, even as we trust in you for all other needful things. For Jesus’ sake AMEN.

Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would destroy or harm; you brighten the life of all who need and seek you. Especially we pray for:

  • families suffering separation…
  • people different from ourselves…
  • those isolated by sickness or sorrow…
  • the victims of violence or warfare…
  • the Church in the Pacific region…

Personal Thanksgivings and Intercessions

Hear us now, Father, as in the name of Christ, we offer our own thanksgivings and intercessions for those in sickness, grief, persecution, bondage, fear, or loneliness…

Please feel free to pause the service for your personal prayers and thanksgivings for yourself, the Church, your officers, and others.

The Prayers of the Day

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Almighty God, who having made your dear Son Jesus Christ perfect through suffering, has called your people to be his disciples and followers: Fill us, we beseech you, with the same Spirit which was in him, that we, being crucified to the world, may patiently bear the cross. And being renewed in our natures in righteousness and true holiness, and walking in the way of Christ, grant that peace and mercy may be upon us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

O Merciful God, who according to your divine power has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness: Make us strong in the Lord, in the power of his might; that putting on the whole armor of God, we may be able to resist all the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, praying to you always with fervent prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray together:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. AMEN.

THE DISMISSAL

Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; heal the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing always in the power of the Holy Ghost. And the blessing of God the Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, preserve and keep you this day and forevermore. AMEN.

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