Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Lent
Friday, 26 February 2021
Ember Day

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 22

Refrain: Be not far from me, O Lord.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, ♦
and are so far from my salvation,
from the words of my distress?

2 O my God, I cry in the daytime,
but you do not answer; ♦
and by night also, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are the Holy One, ♦
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

4 Our forebears trusted in you; ♦
they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 They cried out to you and were delivered; ♦
they put their trust in you and were not confounded. R

6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, ♦
scorned by all and despised by the people.

7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; ♦
they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

8 ‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; ♦
let him deliver him, if he delights in him.’

9 But it is you that took me out of the womb ♦
and laid me safe upon my mother’s breast.

10 On you was I cast ever since I was born; ♦
you are my God even from my mother’s womb.

11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand ♦
and there is none to help. R

12 Mighty oxen come around me; ♦
fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.

13 They gape upon me with their mouths, ♦
as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint; ♦
my heart has become like wax
melting in the depths of my body.

15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd;
my tongue cleaves to my gums; ♦
you have laid me in the dust of death. R

16 For the hounds are all about me;
the pack of evildoers close in on me; ♦
they pierce my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones; ♦
they stand staring and looking upon me.

18 They divide my garments among them; ♦
they cast lots for my clothing.

19 Be not far from me, O Lord; ♦
you are my strength; hasten to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword, ♦
my poor life from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
from the horns of wild oxen. ♦
You have answered me! R

22 I will tell of your name to my people; ♦
in the midst of the congregation will I praise you.

23 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; ♦
O seed of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel.

24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the suffering of the poor;
neither has he hidden his face from them; ♦
but when they cried to him he heard them.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; ♦
I will perform my vows
in the presence of those that fear you.

26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; ♦
those who seek the Lord shall praise him;
their hearts shall live for ever. R

27 All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the Lord, ♦
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s ♦
and he rules over the nations.

29 How can those who sleep in the earth
bow down in worship, ♦
or those who go down to the dust kneel before him?

30 He has saved my life for himself;
my descendants shall serve him; ♦
this shall be told of the Lord for generations to come.

31 They shall come and make known his salvation,
to a people yet unborn, ♦
declaring that he, the Lord, has done it.

Refrain: Be not far from me, O Lord.

Restless with grief and fear,
the abandoned turn to you:
in every hour of trial,
good Lord, deliver us,
O God most holy, God most strong,
whose wisdom is the cross of 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.

Jeremiah 6.22-end

Thus says the Lord:
See, a people is coming from the land of the north,
   a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
They grasp the bow and the javelin,
   they are cruel and have no mercy,
   their sound is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
   equipped like a warrior for battle,
   against you, O daughter Zion!

‘We have heard news of them,
   our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
   pain as of a woman in labour.
Do not go out into the field,
   or walk on the road;
for the enemy has a sword,
   terror is on every side.’

O my poor people, put on sackcloth,
   and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only child,
   most bitter lamentation:
for suddenly the destroyer
   will come upon us.

I have made you a tester and a refiner among my people
   so that you may know and test their ways.
They are all stubbornly rebellious,
   going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron,
   all of them act corruptly.
The bellows blow fiercely,
   the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
   for the wicked are not removed.
They are called ‘rejected silver’,
   for the Lord has rejected them.

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. Alleluia.

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. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

John 6.16-27

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’

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.

The Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.