Morning Prayer

Tuesday 26th May 2020

Taken from Celebrating Common Prayer

THE PREPARATION

O Lord, open our lips;

And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence,

That we may behold your power and glory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the
beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

Alleluia!

THE OPENING CANTICLE: A SONG OF THE KING’S GLORY

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,*

the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas*
and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3 ‘Who can ascend the hill of the Lord?*
and who can stand in his holy place?’
4 ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,*
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
   nor sworn by what is a fraud.
5 ‘They shall receive a blessing from the Lord*
and a just reward from the God of their salvation.’
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,*
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
   lift them high, O everlasting doors;*
and the King of glory shall come in.
8 ‘Who is this King of glory?’*
‘The Lord, strong and mighty,
   the Lord, mighty in battle.’
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
   lift them high, O everlasting doors;*
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 ‘Who is he, this King of glory?’*
‘The Lord of hosts,
   he is the King of glory.’

Psalm 24
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the
beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

A HYMN may be sung.

THE 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 may be 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. Amen.

THE WORD OF GOD

THE PSALMODY

Psalm 107 vv1-22

1 
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
2 
Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 
those he gathered from the lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.
4 
Some wandered in desert wastelands,
    finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 
They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their lives ebbed away.
6 
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 
He led them by a straight way
    to a city where they could settle.
8 
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 
for he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.
10 
Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
    prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 
because they rebelled against God’s commands
    and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 
So he subjected them to bitter labour;
    they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
14 
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
    and broke away their chains.
15 
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 
for he breaks down gates of bronze
    and cuts through bars of iron.
17 
Some became fools through their rebellious ways
    and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 
They loathed all food
    and drew near the gates of death.
19 
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
20 
He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.
21 
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
    and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Each psalm, or group of psalms, may end with:

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the
beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

If there are two SCRIPTURE READINGS, the first may be read here, or both may be
read after the second canticle. [lectionary]

THE SECOND CANTICLE:

Either: A SONG OF THE WILDERNESS (10)

Refrain: The ransomed of the Lord shall return,*

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice,*
the desert shall blossom and burst into song.
2 They shall see the glory of the Lord,*
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weary hands,*
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to the anxious, ‘Be strong, fear not, your God is coming with
judgement,*
coming with judgement to save you.’
5 Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,*
 and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 Then shall the lame leap like a hart,*
and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.
7 For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,*
and streams in the desert;
8 The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing,*
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
9 Joy and gladness shall be theirs,*
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
From Isaiah 35

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was
in the beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

The ransomed of the Lord shall return,*

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Lift up your voice with strength,*
O herald of good tidings.

THE SCRIPTURE READING(S)

Luke 8:1-15

The Parable of the Sower

8 After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some
women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene)
from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager
of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to
support them out of their own means.
4 
While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town
after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it
up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because
they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and
choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a
hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
9 
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the
secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in
parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;

    though hearing, they may not understand.’ [a]
11 
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along
the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word
from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky
ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have
no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed
that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they
are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the
seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word,
retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

A RESPONSORY may be said.

Now it is time to awake out of sleep,

For the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed,

For the night is far spent.

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness

   and put on the armour of light,
For the day is at hand.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ

   and make no provision for the flesh,
For the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

THE GOSPEL CANTICLE: BENEDICTUS (38)

Refrain: The dawn from on high shall break upon us,*

to shine on those who dwell in darkness.

1 Blessèd be the Lord, the God of Israel,*

for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,*
born of the house of his servant, David.
3 Through his holy prophets, he promised of old*
that he would save us from our enemies,
   from the hands of all that hate us;
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father, Abraham,*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 Free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight,
    all the days of our life.
7 You, my child,
    shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 To give his people knowledge of salvation*
 by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 To shine on those who dwell in darkness
    and the shadow of death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was
in the beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

Refrain: The dawn from on high shall break upon us,*

to shine on those who dwell in darkness.

The refrain is repeated after the canticle.

THE PRAYERS

Watchful at all times,

let us pray for strength to stand with confidence
before our Maker and Redeemer.

That God may bring in his kingdom with judgement and mercy,
let us pray to the Lord: R.

That God may establish among the nations

his sceptre of righteousness, let us pray to the Lord: R.

That we may seek him in the scriptures

and recognise him in the breaking of the bread,
let us pray to the Lord: R.

That God may bind up the broken-hearted,

restore the sick and raise up all who have fallen,
let us pray to the Lord: R.

That the light of God’s coming may dawn

on all who live in darkness and in the shadow of death,
let us pray to the Lord: R.
That with all the saints in light,
we may shine forth as lights of the world,
let us pray to the Lord: R.

So we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray

to the mercy and protection of our heavenly Father:

THE COLLECT of the day, or one of the following.

O God,
who set before us the great hope
that your Kingdom shall come on earth
and taught us to pray for its coming:
give us grace to discern the signs of its dawning
and to work for the perfect day
when the whole world shall reflect your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

THE LORD’S PRAYER may be said.

[As we look for the coming of the Kingdom,

Lord, teach us to pray:]

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 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

THE BLESSING

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,

and keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.