12.12am on Friday 29 March 2024

Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language


Please note: Daily Prayer provided by the official Church of England web site, © The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2002-2004.

Morning Prayer
Passiontide
Saturday, 30 March 2024
Easter Eve

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 142

Refrain: Bring my soul out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.

1 I cry aloud to the Lord; 
to the Lord I make my supplication.

2 I pour out my complaint before him 
and tell him of my trouble.

3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my path; 
in the way wherein I walk have they laid a snare for me.

4 I look to my right hand, and find no one who knows me; 
I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for my soul. R

5 I cry out to you, O Lord, and say: 
‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

6 ‘Listen to my cry, for I am brought very low; 
save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.

7 ‘Bring my soul out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name; 
when you have dealt bountifully with me,
then shall the righteous gather around me.’

Refrain: Bring my soul out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.

God of compassion,
you regard the forsaken
and give hope to the crushed in spirit;
hear those who cry to you in distress
and bring your ransomed people to sing your glorious praise,
now and for ever.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Hosea 6.1-6

‘Come, let us return to the Lord;
   for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
   he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
   on the third day he will raise us up,
   that we may live before him.
Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
   his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
   like the spring rains that water the earth.’
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
   What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
   like the dew that goes away early.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
   I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
   and my judgement goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
   the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings.

Canticle

The following, or another suitable canticle, may be said or sung

Refrain:

AllMy prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

1I called to you, O God, out of my distress
and you answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.

2You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me,
all your waves and billows passed over me.

3Then I said, I am driven away from your sight;
how shall I ever look again upon your holy temple?

4The waters closed in over me,
the deep was round about me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
at the roots of the mountains.

5I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever,
yet you brought up my life from the depths, O God.

6As my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, O God,
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

7With the voice of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay;
deliverance belongs to the Lord!

Jonah 2.2-7, 9

AllMy prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

John 2.18-22

The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllDestroy this temple and, in three days,
      I will raise it up, says the Lord;
this he said of the temple that was his body.

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

Refrain:

AllDestroy this temple and, in three days,
      I will raise it up, says the Lord;
this he said of the temple that was his body.

Prayers

The Collect of the day is said

Grant, Lord,
that we who are baptized into the death
      of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
may continually put to death our evil desires
      and be buried with him;
and that through the grave and gate of death
we may pass to our joyful resurrection;
through his merits,
who died and was buried and rose again for us,
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Standing at the foot of the cross,
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)

Standing at the foot of the cross,
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.

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