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 Blessing

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 56

Refrain: In God I trust, and will not fear.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, for they trample over me; ♦
all day long they assault and oppress me.

2 My adversaries trample over me all the day long; ♦
many are they that make proud war against me.

3 In the day of my fear I put my trust in you, ♦
in God whose word I praise.

4 In God I trust, and will not fear, ♦
for what can flesh do to me? R

5 All day long they wound me with words; ♦
their every thought is to do me evil.

6 They stir up trouble; they lie in wait; ♦
marking my steps, they seek my life.

7 Shall they escape for all their wickedness? ♦
In anger, O God, cast the peoples down.

8 You have counted up my groaning;
put my tears into your bottle; ♦
are they not written in your book? R

9 Then shall my enemies turn back
on the day when I call upon you; ♦
this I know, for God is on my side.

10 In God whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise, ♦
in God I trust and will not fear:
what can flesh do to me?

11 To you, O God, will I fulfil my vows; ♦
to you will I present my offerings of thanks,

12 For you will deliver my soul from death
and my feet from falling, ♦
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Refrain: In God I trust, and will not fear.

Faithful God,
your deliverance is nearer than we know;
free us from fear
and help us to find courage in your Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, ♦
for my soul takes refuge in you;

2 In the shadow of your wings will I take refuge ♦
until the storm of destruction has passed by.

3 I will call upon the Most High God, ♦
the God who fulfils his purpose for me.

4 He will send from heaven and save me
and rebuke those that would trample upon me; ♦
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

5 I lie in the midst of lions, ♦
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.

6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦
and your glory over all the earth.

7 They have laid a net for my feet;
my soul is pressed down; ♦
they have dug a pit before me
and will fall into it themselves.

8 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; ♦
I will sing and give you praise.

9 Awake, my soul; awake, harp and lyre, ♦
that I may awaken the dawn.

10 I will give you thanks, O Lord, among the peoples; ♦
I will sing praise to you among the nations.

11 For your loving-kindness is as high as the heavens, ♦
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

12 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦
and your glory over all the earth.

Tender God,
gentle protector in time of trouble,
pierce the gloom of despair
and give us, with all your people,
the song of freedom and the shout of praise;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm (63*)

Refrain: My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10 But those who seek my soul to destroy it ♦
shall go down to the depths of the earth;

11 Let them fall by the edge of the sword ♦
and become a portion for jackals.

12 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all those who swear by him shall be glad, ♦
for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Refrain: My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

To you we come, radiant Lord,
the goal of all our desiring,
beyond all earthly beauty;
gentle protector, strong deliverer,
in the night you are our confidence;
from first light be our joy;
through 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.

Ezekiel 43.1-12

Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple. He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel for ever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the corpses of their kings at their death. When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will reside among them for ever.

As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their iniquities. When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple.

Canticle

A Song of the Covenant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 44 (page 596), may be said

Refrain:

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

1Thus says God, who created the heavens, ♦
who fashioned the earth and all that dwells in it;

2Who gives breath to the people upon it ♦
and spirit to those who walk in it,

3 ‘I am the Lord and I have called you in righteousness, ♦
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

4 ‘I have given you as a covenant to the people, ♦
a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,

5‘To bring out the captives from the dungeon, ♦
from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

6‘I am the Lord, that is my name; ♦
my glory I give to no other.’

Isaiah 42.5-8a

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.

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Mark 1.29-end

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

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

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
AllI have called you by name; you are mine.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.

from Isaiah 43

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God's Glory) (page 635) may be said

Refrain:

All Blessed are those who are persecuted for the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia.

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:

All Blessed are those who are persecuted for the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia.

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

¶ Local government, community leaders
¶ All who provide local services
¶ Those who work with young or elderly people
¶ Schools, colleges and universities
¶ Emergency and rescue organizations

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 God almighty,
who so kindled the faith of King Oswald with your Spirit
that he set up the sign of the cross in his kingdom
and turned his people to the light of Christ:
grant that we, being fired by the same Spirit,
may always bear our cross before the world
and be found faithful servants of the gospel;
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. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.