Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

1O come, let us sing to the Lord; ♦
let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving ♦
and be glad in him with psalms.

3For the Lord is a great God ♦
and a great king above all gods.

4In his hand are the depths of the earth ♦
and the heights of the mountains are his also.

5The sea is his, for he made it, ♦
and his hands have moulded the dry land.

6Come, let us worship and bow down ♦
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7For he is our God; ♦
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

The canticle may end here.

8O that today you would listen to his voice: ♦
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
on that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, ♦
though they had seen my works.

10‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, ♦
“This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”

11‘So I swore in my wrath, ♦
“They shall not enter into my rest.”’

Psalm 95

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 88

Refrain: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation, ♦
I have cried day and night before you.

2 Let my prayer come into your presence; ♦
incline your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles; ♦
my life draws near to the land of death.

4 I am counted as one gone down to the Pit; ♦
I am like one that has no strength,

5 Lost among the dead, ♦
like the slain who lie in the grave,

6 Whom you remember no more, ♦
for they are cut off from your hand. R

7 You have laid me in the lowest pit, ♦
in a place of darkness in the abyss.

8 Your anger lies heavy upon me, ♦
and you have afflicted me with all your waves.

9 You have put my friends far from me ♦
and made me to be abhorred by them.

10 I am so fast in prison that I cannot get free; ♦
my eyes fail from all my trouble. R

11 Lord, I have called daily upon you; ♦
I have stretched out my hands to you.

12 Do you work wonders for the dead? ♦
Will the shades stand up and praise you?

13 Shall your loving-kindness be declared in the grave, ♦
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?

14 Shall your wonders be known in the dark ♦
or your righteous deeds in the land where all is forgotten? R

15 But as for me, O Lord, I will cry to you; ♦
early in the morning my prayer shall come before you.

16 Lord, why have you rejected my soul? ♦
Why have you hidden your face from me?

17 I have been wretched and at the point of death from my youth; ♦
I suffer your terrors and am no more seen.

18 Your wrath sweeps over me; ♦
your horrors are come to destroy me;

19 All day long they come about me like water; ♦
they close me in on every side.

20 Lover and friend have you put far from me ♦
and hid my companions out of my sight.

Refrain: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

In the depths of our isolation
we cry to you, Lord God;
give light in our darkness
and bring us out of the prison of our despair
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm (95)

Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; ♦
let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving ♦
and be glad in him with psalms.

3 For the Lord is a great God ♦
and a great king above all gods. R

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth ♦
and the heights of the mountains are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it, ♦
and his hands have moulded the dry land.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down ♦
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7 For he is our God; ♦
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. R

8 O that today you would listen to his voice: ♦
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
on that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 ‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, ♦
though they had seen my works.

10 ‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, ♦
“This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”

11 ‘So I swore in my wrath, ♦
“They shall not enter into my rest.” ’

Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.

Lord God, the maker of all,
as we bow down in praise this day,
make us attentive to your voice
and do not test us beyond our enduring;
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.

Job 41

‘Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish-hook,
   or press down its tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in its nose,
   or pierce its jaw with a hook?
Will it make many supplications to you?
   Will it speak soft words to you?
Will it make a covenant with you
   to be taken as your servant for ever?
Will you play with it as with a bird,
   or will you put it on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over it?
   Will they divide it up among the merchants?
Can you fill its skin with harpoons,
   or its head with fishing-spears?
Lay hands on it;
   think of the battle; you will not do it again!
Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed;
   were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it?
No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.
   Who can stand before it?
Who can confront it and be safe?
   —under the whole heaven, who?

‘I will not keep silence concerning its limbs,
   or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame.
Who can strip off its outer garment?
   Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?
Who can open the doors of its face?
   There is terror all around its teeth.
Its back is made of shields in rows,
   shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
   that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
   they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
Its sneezes flash forth light,
   and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
From its mouth go flaming torches;
   sparks of fire leap out.
Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
   as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Its breath kindles coals,
   and a flame comes out of its mouth.
In its neck abides strength,
   and terror dances before it.
The folds of its flesh cling together;
   it is firmly cast and immovable.
Its heart is as hard as stone,
   as hard as the lower millstone.
When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
   at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
   nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
It counts iron as straw,
   and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make it flee;
   slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
Clubs are counted as chaff;
   it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
   it spreads itself like a threshing-sledge on the mire.
It makes the deep boil like a pot;
   it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a shining wake behind it;
   one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth it has no equal,
   a creature without fear.
It surveys everything that is lofty;
   it is king over all that are proud.’

Canticle

A Song of Humility, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 33 (page 584), may be said

Refrain:

AllRaise us up, O God,
that we may live in your presence. Alleluia.

1Come, let us return to the Lord ♦
who has torn us and will heal us.

2God has stricken us ♦
and will bind up our wounds.

3After two days, he will revive us, ♦
and on the third day will raise us up,
that we may live in his presence.

4Let us strive to know the Lord; ♦
his appearing is as sure as the sunrise.

5He will come to us like the showers, ♦
like the spring rains that water the earth.

6‘O Ephraim, how shall I deal with you? ♦
How shall I deal with you, O Judah?

7‘Your love for me is like the morning mist, ♦
like the dew that goes early away.

8‘Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets, ♦
and my judgement goes forth as the light.

9‘For loyalty is my desire and not sacrifice, ♦
and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. ’

Hosea 6.1-6

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.

AllRaise us up, O God,
that we may live in your presence. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Romans 16.1-16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

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

Forsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
AllBe not far from me, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllForsake me not, O Lord;
be not far from me, O my God.

from Psalm 38

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or A Song of Praise (page 627) may be said

Refrain:

AllGive your people knowledge of salvation, O God,
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

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:

AllGive your people knowledge of salvation, O God,
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

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 King, members of parliament and the armed forces
¶ Peace and justice in the world
¶ Those who work for reconciliation
¶ All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
¶ Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord 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.