Morning Prayer (Contemporary) on Thursday 22 February 2024
Morning Prayer Lent Thursday, 22 February 2024
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
Allaccording to your judgement give us life.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or A Song of Penitence
1Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; ♦
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out my offences.
2Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness ♦
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my faults ♦
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you only have I sinned ♦
and done what is evil in your sight,
5So that you are justified in your sentence ♦
and righteous in your judgement.
6Cast me not away from your presence ♦
and take not your holy spirit from me.
7Give me again the joy of your salvation ♦
and sustain me with your gracious spirit;
8Then shall I teach your ways to the wicked ♦
and sinners shall return to you.
9Deliver me from my guilt, O God,
the God of my salvation, ♦
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.
Psalm 51.1-5, 12-15
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 42
1As the deer longs for the water brooks, ♦
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; ♦
when shall I come before the presence of God?
3My tears have been my bread day and night, ♦
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
4Now when I think on these things, I pour out my soul: ♦
how I went with the multitude
and led the procession to the house of God,
5With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, ♦
among those who kept holy day.
6Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
8My soul is heavy within me; ♦
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
and from Hermon and the hill of Mizar.
9Deep calls to deep in the thunder of your waterfalls; ♦
all your breakers and waves have gone over me.
10The Lord will grant his loving-kindness in the daytime; ♦
through the night his song will be with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
11I say to God my rock,
‘Why have you forgotten me, ♦
and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?’
12As they crush my bones, my enemies mock me; ♦
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
13Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
14O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Come, creator Spirit, source of life;
sustain us when our hearts are heavy
and our wells have run dry,
for you are the Father’s gift,
with him who is our living water,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 43
1Give judgement for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people; ♦
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
2For you are the God of my refuge;
why have you cast me from you, ♦
and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?
3O send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, ♦
and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling,
4That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness; ♦
and on the lyre I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
5Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, ♦
and why are you so disquieted within me?
6O put your trust in God; ♦
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Come, creator Spirit, light and truth;
bring us to the altar of life
and renew our joy and gladness
in 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.
Genesis 42.18-28
On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus your words will be verified, and you shall not die.’ And they agreed to do so. They said to one another, ‘Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.’ Then Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.’ They did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their eyes. Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This was done for them.
They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed. When one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging-place, he saw his money at the top of the sack. He said to his brothers, ‘My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!’ At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’
Canticle
The Song of Manasseh, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 20 (page 570), number 33 (page 584) or number 41 (page 592), may be said
Refrain:
AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty.
1Lord almighty and God of our ancestors, ♦
you who made heaven and earth in all their glory:
2All things tremble with awe at your presence, ♦
before your great and mighty power.
3Immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy, ♦
for you are God, Most High.
4You are full of compassion, long-suffering and very merciful, ♦
and you relent at human suffering.
5O God, according to your great goodness, ♦
you have promised forgiveness for repentance
to those who have sinned against you.
6The sins I have committed against you ♦
are more in number than the sands of the sea.
7I am not worthy to look up to the height of heaven, ♦
because of the multitude of my iniquities.
8And now I bend the knee of my heart before you, ♦
imploring your kindness upon me.
9I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, ♦
and I acknowledge my transgressions.
10Unworthy as I am, you will save me, ♦
according to your great mercy.
11For all the host of heaven sings your praise, ♦
and your glory is for ever and ever.
Manasseh 1a, 2, 4, 6, 7a, b, 9a, c, 11, 12, 14b, 15b
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.
AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty.
Scripture Reading
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
Galatians 5.2-15
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offence of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
AllO my God, in you I trust.
You are the God of my salvation,
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
In you I hope all the day long.
AllO my God, in you I trust.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.
from Psalm 25
Gospel Canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said
Refrain:
AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
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:
AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Prayers
Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365
¶ Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
¶ Those serving through leadership
¶ Those looking for forgiveness
¶ Those misled by the false gods of this present age
¶ All who are hungry
A form of prayer found on page 380 may be used.
The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.
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
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
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
Trusting in the compassion of God,
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)
Trusting in the compassion of God,
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. Morning Prayer Lent Thursday, 22 February 2024
