Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
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.
Blessed be God forever.

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 forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling

Charles Wesley

Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death,
Come, and by thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath.

The new heaven and earth's Creator,
In our deepest darkness rise,
Scattering all the night of nature,
Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

Still we wait for thine appearing;
Life and joy thy beams impart,
Chasing all our fears, and cheering
Every poor benighted heart.

Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race;
Come, thou universal Savior,
Come, and bring the gospel grace.

Save us in thy great compassion,
O thou mild, pacific Prince;
Give the knowledge of salvation,
Give the pardon of our sins.

By thine all restoring merit
Every burdened soul release;
Every weary, wandering spirit
Guide into thy perfect peace.

Confession of sin

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his loving devotion for those who fear him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his kind deeds.

Psalm 62

𝙍: Rest in God alone, O my soul.

In God alone my soul finds rest;
my salvation comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress;
I will never be shaken.

How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you throw him down
like a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?
They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch;
they delight in lies;
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse.

Rest in God alone, O my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress; I will not be shaken. 𝙍

My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock;
my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.

Lowborn men are but a vapor,
the exalted but a lie.
Weighed on the scale, they go up;
together they are but a vapor.
Place no trust in extortion,
or false hope in stolen goods.
If your riches increase,
do not set your heart upon them.

God has spoken once;
I have heard this twice:
that power belongs to God,
and loving devotion to You, O Lord.
For You will repay each man
according to his deeds.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: Rest in God alone, O my soul.

Psalm prayer

God, teach us to seek security,
not in money or theft,
not in human ambition or malice,
not in our own ability or power,
but in you, the only God,
our rock and our salvation.

Psalm 63

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God.

O God, You are my God.
Earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You.
My body yearns for You
in a dry and weary land without water.

So I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and glory.
Because Your loving devotion is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
in Your name I will lift my hands. 𝙍

My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
When I remember You on my bed,
I think of You through the watches of the night.
For You are my help;
I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me. 𝙍

But those who seek my life to destroy it
will go into the depths of the earth.
They will fall to the power of the sword;
they will become a portion for foxes.
But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by Him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God.

Psalm prayer

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.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 31

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in their abundance of chariots
and in their multitude of horsemen.
They do not look to the Holy One of Israel;
they do not seek the LORD.
Yet He too is wise and brings disaster;
He does not call back His words.
He will rise up against the house of the wicked
and against the allies of evildoers.
But the Egyptians are men, not God;
their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the LORD stretches out His hand,
the helper will stumble,
and the one he helps will fall;
both will perish together.

For this is what the LORD has said to me:

“Like a lion roaring
or a young lion over its prey—
and though a band of shepherds is called out against it,
it is not terrified by their shouting
or subdued by their clamor—
so the LORD of Hosts will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.
Like birds hovering overhead,
so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem.
He will shield it and deliver it;
He will pass over it and preserve it.”

Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel. For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.

“Then Assyria will fall,
but not by the sword of man;
a sword will devour them,
but not one made by mortals.
They will flee before the sword,
and their young men will be put to forced labor.
Their rock will pass away for fear,
and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,”
declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,
whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 15:1-20

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

‘These people honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
They worship Me in vain;
they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: You have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace.”

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: You have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power
and come among us,
and with great might succor us;
that whereas, through our sins and wickedness
we are grievously hindered
in running the race that is set before us,
your bountiful grace and mercy
may speedily help and deliver us;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our 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 forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.