Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

after Lancelot Andrewes (1626)

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of God’s Praise

1O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; ♦
my soul is athirst for you.

2My flesh also faints for you, ♦
as in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

3So would I gaze upon you in your holy place, ♦
that I might behold your power and your glory.

4Your loving-kindness is better than life itself ♦
and so my lips shall praise you.

5I will bless you as long as I live ♦
and lift up my hands in your name.

6My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, ♦
and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

7When I remember you upon my bed ♦
and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

8For you have been my helper ♦
and under the shadow of your wings will I rejoice.

9My soul clings to you; ♦
your right hand shall hold me fast.

Psalm 63.1-9

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 20

Refrain: We will call on the name of the Lord our God.

1 May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble, ♦
the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

2 Send you help from his sanctuary ♦
and strengthen you out of Zion;

3 Remember all your offerings ♦
and accept your burnt sacrifice;

4 Grant you your heart’s desire ♦
and fulfil all your mind.

5 May we rejoice in your salvation
and triumph in the name of our God; ♦
may the Lord perform all your petitions. R

6 Now I know that the Lord will save his anointed; ♦
he will answer him from his holy heaven,
with the mighty strength of his right hand.

7 Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses, ♦
but we will call only on the name of the Lord our God.

8 They are brought down and fallen, ♦
but we are risen and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king ♦
and answer us when we call upon you.

Refrain: We will call on the name of the Lord our God.

Merciful God,
purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit
and transform our toil into an offering of praise,
that we may reject the proud rule of might
and trust in Christ alone,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever.

Psalm 21

Refrain: The king puts his trust in the Lord.

1 The king shall rejoice in your strength, O Lord; ♦
how greatly shall he rejoice in your salvation!

2 You have given him his heart’s desire ♦
and have not denied the request of his lips.

3 For you come to meet him with blessings of goodness ♦
and set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

4 He asked of you life and you gave it him, ♦
length of days, for ever and ever. R

5 His honour is great because of your salvation; ♦
glory and majesty have you laid upon him.

6 You have granted him everlasting felicity ♦
and will make him glad with joy in your presence.

7 For the king puts his trust in the Lord; ♦
because of the loving-kindness of the Most High,
he shall not be overthrown. R

8 Your hand shall mark down all your enemies; ♦
your right hand will find out those who hate you.

9 You will make them like a fiery oven
in the time of your wrath; ♦
the Lord will swallow them up in his anger
and the fire will consume them.

10 Their fruit you will root out of the land ♦
and their seed from among its inhabitants. R

11 Because they intend evil against you ♦
and devise wicked schemes
which they cannot perform,

12 You will put them to flight ♦
when you aim your bow at their faces.

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your own might; ♦
we will make music and sing of your power.

Refrain: The king puts his trust in the Lord.

Crown us, O God, but with humility,
and robe us with compassion,
that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome all evil
by the power of good
and so walk gently on the earth
with you, our God, for ever.

Psalm 23

Refrain: I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; ♦
therefore can I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures ♦
and leads me beside still waters. R

3 He shall refresh my soul ♦
and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; ♦
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  R

5 You spread a table before me
in the presence of those who trouble me; ♦
you have anointed my head with oil
and my cup shall be full.

6 Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, ♦
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Refrain: I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

O God, our sovereign and shepherd,
who brought again your Son Jesus Christ
from the valley of death,
comfort us with your protecting presence
and your angels of goodness and love,
that we also may come home
and dwell with him in your house for ever.

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.

Judith 9

Then Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said:

‘O Lord God of my ancestor Simeon, to whom you gave a sword to take revenge on those strangers who had torn off a virgin’s clothing to defile her, and exposed her thighs to put her to shame, and polluted her womb to disgrace her; for you said, “It shall not be done”—yet they did it; so you gave up their rulers to be killed, and their bed, which was ashamed of the deceit they had practised, was stained with blood, and you struck down slaves along with princes, and princes on their thrones. You gave up their wives for booty and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among your beloved children who burned with zeal for you and abhorred the pollution of their blood and called on you for help. O God, my God, hear me also, a widow.

‘For you have done these things and those that went before and those that followed. You have designed the things that are now, and those that are to come. What you had in mind has happened; the things you decided on presented themselves and said, “Here we are!” For all your ways are prepared in advance, and your judgement is with foreknowledge.

‘Here now are the Assyrians, a greatly increased force, priding themselves on their horses and riders, boasting in the strength of their foot-soldiers, and trusting in shield and spear, in bow and sling. They do not know that you are the Lord who crushes wars; the Lord is your name. Break their strength by your might, and bring down their power in your anger; for they intend to defile your sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where your glorious name resides, and to break off the horns of your altar with the sword. Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give to me, a widow, the strong hand to do what I plan. By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman.

‘For your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, saviour of those without hope. Please, please, God of my father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my prayer! Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on those who have planned cruel things against your covenant, and against your sacred house, and against Mount Zion, and against the house your children possess. Let your whole nation and every tribe know and understand that you are God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you alone!’

or Leviticus 17

Canticle

A Song of Jerusalem our Mother, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 48 (page 600), may be said

Refrain:

AllThus says our God, I will comfort you,
you shall see and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.

1‘Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, ♦
all you who love her,’ says the Lord.

2 ‘Rejoice with her in joy, ♦
all you who mourn over her,

3‘That you may drink deeply with delight ♦
from her consoling breast.’

4For thus says our God, ♦
‘You shall be nursed and carried on her arm.

5‘As a mother comforts her children, ♦
so I will comfort you;

6‘You shall see and your heart shall rejoice; ♦
you shall flourish like the grass of the fields.’

Isaiah 66.10, 11a, 12a, 12c, 13a, 14a, b

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.

AllThus says our God, I will comfort you,
you shall see and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

2 Timothy 3

You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth. But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone.

Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

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

Your salvation is near to those who fear you;
that glory may dwell in our land.
AllYour salvation is near to those who fear you;
that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
AllThat glory may dwell in our land.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllYour salvation is near to those who fear you;
that glory may dwell in our land.

from Psalm 85

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:

AllShine on us, O God, who dwell in darkness,
and guide us into the way of peace.

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:

AllShine on us, O God, who dwell in darkness,
and guide us into the way of peace.

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 362–363

¶ Our homes, families, friends and all whom we love
¶ Those whose time is spent caring for others
¶ Those who are close to death
¶ Those who have lost hope
¶ The worship of the Church

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 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

Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
      the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
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. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.