Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer on Monday
Monday, 6 February 2012
The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 [Commemoration]
The Accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

One or more of the following is said or sung:
a prayer of thanksgiving (page 109),
a suitable hymn,
or A Song of God’s Compassion

1The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, •
slow to anger and of great kindness.

2He will not always accuse us, •
neither will he keep his anger for ever.

3He has not dealt with us according to our sins, •
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

4For as the heavens are high above the earth, •
so great is his mercy upon those who fear him.

5As far as the east is from the west, •
so far has he set our sins from us.

6As a father has compassion on his children, •
so is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.

7For he knows of what we are made; •
he remembers that we are but dust.

8Our days are but as grass; •
we flourish as a flower of the field;

9For as soon as the wind goes over it, it is gone, •
and its place shall know it no more.

10But the merciful goodness of the Lord is from of old
and endures for ever on those who fear him, •
and his righteousness on children’s children;

11On those who keep his covenant •
and remember his commandments to do them.

Psalm 103.8-18

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 27

Refrain: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? •
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, •
they stumbled and fell.

3 Though a host encamp against me,
my heart shall not be afraid, •
and though there rise up war against me,
yet will I put my trust in him.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord
and that alone I seek; •
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,

5 To behold the fair beauty of the Lord •
and to seek his will in his temple.

6 For in the day of trouble
he shall hide me in his shelter; •
in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me
and set me high upon a rock.

7 And now shall he lift up my head •
above my enemies round about me;

8 Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation
with great gladness; •
I will sing and make music to the Lord. R

9 Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call; •
have mercy upon me and answer me.

10 My heart tells of your word, ‘Seek my face.’ •
Your face, Lord, will I seek.

11 Hide not your face from me, •
nor cast your servant away in displeasure.

12 You have been my helper; •
leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

13 Though my father and my mother forsake me, •
the Lord will take me up.

14 Teach me your way, O Lord; •
lead me on a level path,
because of those who lie in wait for me.

15 Deliver me not into the will of my adversaries, •
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
and those who breathe out violence.

16 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord •
in the land of the living.

17 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and he shall comfort your heart; •
wait patiently for the Lord.

Refrain: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 30

Refrain: You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.

1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you have raised me up •
and have not let my foes triumph over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you •
and you have healed me.

3 You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; •
you restored me to life from among those that go down to the Pit.

4 Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; •
give thanks to his holy name.

5 For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
his favour for a lifetime. •
Heaviness may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning. R

6 In my prosperity I said,
‘I shall never be moved. •
You, Lord, of your goodness,
have made my hill so strong.’

7 Then you hid your face from me •
and I was utterly dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cried; •
to the Lord I made my supplication:

9 ‘What profit is there in my blood,
if I go down to the Pit? •
Will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

10 ‘Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; •
O Lord, be my helper.’ R

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; •
you have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;

12 Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; •
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever.

Refrain: You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.

Lord, you hide your face
when we trust in ourselves;
strip us of false security
and re-clothe us in your praise,
that we may know you
as the one who raises us from death,
as you raised your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

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 Deliverance, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 40 (page 591), may be said

Refrain:

AllAll the earth, shout and sing for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One.

1‘Behold, God is my salvation; •
I will trust and will not be afraid;

2‘For the Lord God is my strength and my song, •
and has become my salvation.’

3With joy you will draw water •
from the wells of salvation.

4On that day you will say, •
‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;

5‘Make known his deeds among the nations, •
proclaim that his name is exalted.

6‘Sing God’s praises, who has triumphed gloriously; •
let this be known in all the world.

7‘Shout and sing for joy, you that dwell in Zion, •
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.‘

Isaiah 12.2-6

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.

AllAll the earth, shout and sing for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Genesis 24.1-28

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.’ The servant said to him, ‘Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?’ Abraham said to him, ‘See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, “To your offspring I will give this land”, he will send his angel before you; you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.’ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was towards evening, the time when women go out to draw water. And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the girl to whom I shall say, “Please offer your jar that I may drink”, and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’

Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water-jar on her shoulder. The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, ‘Please let me sip a little water from your jar.’ ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.’ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, ‘Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?’ She said to him, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.’ She added, ‘We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.’ The man bowed his head and worshipped the Lord and said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness towards my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.’

Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

1 Timothy 6.1-10

Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honour, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the ground that they are members of the church; rather they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved.

Teach and urge these duties. Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
AllTrust in the Lord with all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.
In all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make straight your paths.
AllTrust in the Lord with all your heart.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
AllTrust in the Lord with all your heart;
and be not wise in your own sight.

from Proverbs 3

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or the Te Deum Laudamus (A Song of the Church) (page 636) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have set us free to worship you without fear,
holy and righteous in your sight.

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:

AllYou have set us free to worship you without fear,
holy and righteous in your sight.

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

Almighty God,
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, among the many changes of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
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

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)

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

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
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 available from 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.