Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer on Sunday
Sunday, 14 June 2026
The Second Sunday after Trinity

Preparation

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

The Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day (page 108) may replace the Preparation as the start of Morning Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

One of these prayers of thanksgiving (page 109),

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

(or)

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 the Benedicite – a Song of Creation (shorter version)

1Bless the Lord all you works of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

2Bless the Lord you heavens: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

3Bless the Lord you angels of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

4Bless the Lord all people on earth: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

5O people of God bless the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

6Bless the Lord you priests of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

7Bless the Lord you servants of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

8Bless the Lord all you of upright spirit: ♦
bless the Lord you that are holy and humble in heart.

The Song of the Three 35-37, 60-65

AllBless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

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 45

Refrain: Behold our defender, O God,
and look upon the face of your anointed.

1 My heart is astir with gracious words; ♦
as I make my song for the king,
my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

2 You are the fairest of men; ♦
full of grace are your lips,
for God has blest you for ever.

3 Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one; ♦
gird on your majesty and glory.

4 Ride on and prosper in the cause of truth ♦
and for the sake of humility and righteousness.

5 Your right hand will teach you terrible things; ♦
your arrows will be sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies,
so that peoples fall beneath you. R

6 Your throne is God’s throne, for ever; ♦
the sceptre of your kingdom is the sceptre of righteousness.

7 You love righteousness and hate iniquity; ♦
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

8 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; ♦
from ivory palaces the music of strings makes you glad.

9 Kings’ daughters are among your honourable women; ♦
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. R

10 Hear, O daughter; consider and incline your ear; ♦
forget your own people and your father’s house.

11 So shall the king have pleasure in your beauty; ♦
he is your lord, so do him honour.

12 The people of Tyre shall bring you gifts; ♦
the richest of the people shall seek your favour.

13 The king’s daughter is all glorious within; ♦
her clothing is embroidered cloth of gold.

14 She shall be brought to the king in raiment of needlework; ♦
after her the virgins that are her companions.

15 With joy and gladness shall they be brought ♦
and enter into the palace of the king.

16 ‘Instead of your fathers you shall have sons, ♦
whom you shall make princes over all the land.

17 ‘I will make your name to be remembered through all generations; ♦
therefore shall the peoples praise you for ever and ever.’

Refrain: Behold our defender, O God,
and look upon the face of your anointed.

Lord our God,
bring your bride, your holy Church,
with joy to the marriage feast of heaven,
and unite us with your anointed Son,
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.

Deuteronomy 10.12 - 11.1

So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.

You shall love the Lord your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always.

Canticle

A Song of David, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 32 (page 583) or number 50 (page 602), may be said

Refrain:

AllSplendour and majesty are yours, O God;
you are exalted as head over all. Alleluia.

1Blessed are you, God of Israel, for ever and ever, ♦
for yours is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour and the majesty.

2Everything in heaven and on earth is yours; ♦
yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
and you are exalted as head over all.

3Riches and honour come from you ♦
and you rule over all.

4In your hand are power and might; ♦
yours it is to give power and strength to all.

5And now we give you thanks, our God, ♦
and praise your glorious name.

6For all things come from you, ♦
and of your own have we given you.

1 Chronicles 29.10b-13, 14b

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.

AllSplendour and majesty are yours, O God;
you are exalted as head over all. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Acts 23.12-end

In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you, on the pretext that you want to make a more thorough examination of his case. And we are ready to do away with him before he arrives.’

Now the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush; so he went and gained entrance to the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him.’ So he took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, ‘The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you.’ The tribune took him by the hand, drew him aside privately, and asked, ‘What is it that you have to report to me?’ He answered, ‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more thoroughly into his case. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they kill him. They are ready now and are waiting for your consent.’ So the tribune dismissed the young man, ordering him, ‘Tell no one that you have informed me of this.’

Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, ‘Get ready to leave by nine o’clock tonight for Caesarea with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Felix the governor.’ He wrote a letter to this effect:

‘Claudius Lysias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, but when I had learned that he was a Roman citizen, I came with the guard and rescued him. Since I wanted to know the charge for which they accused him, I had him brought to their council. I found that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but was charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.’

So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him during the night to Antipatris. The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he belonged to, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s headquarters.

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

Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead
AllAnd Christ shall give you light.
You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.
AllAwake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on the earth.
AllAnd Christ shall give you light.
When Christ our life appears you will appear with him in glory.
AllAwake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give you light.

from Colossians 3

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or the Easter Anthems (page 634) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David.

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 raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David.

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

¶ The universal Church
¶ Bishops, synods and all who lead the Church
¶ The leaders of the nations
¶ The natural world and the resources of the earth
¶ All who are in any kind of need

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

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,
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.

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks 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.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.