Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
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.
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

Saw Ye Not the Cloud Arise

Charles Wesley

Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as the human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs over all the thirsty land.

Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above,
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the Spirit of his love.

When he first the work begun
Small and feeble was his day,
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way;

More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strongholds it now overthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

Sons of God your Savior praise,
He a door hath opened wide
He hath given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified.

Jesus mighty to redeem,
He alone the work hath wrought,
Worthy is the work of him,
Him who spoke a world from naught.

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that disappears early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

Psalm 87

𝙍: God has founded His city on the holy mountains.

He has founded His city
on the holy mountains.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are ascribed to you,
O city of God.

“I will mention Rahab and Babylon
among those who know Me—
along with Philistia, Tyre, and Cush —
when I say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’ ”

And it will be said of Zion:
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High Himself will establish her.”

The LORD will record in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”

Singers and pipers will proclaim,
“All my springs of joy are in You.”

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: God has founded His city on the holy mountains.

Psalm prayer

Lord, as you call us to your city
founded on the rock of ages,
let the springs of living water
rise within us to eternal life;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 89:1-18

𝙍: O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?

I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;
in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,
I have sworn to David My servant:
‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.’ ” 𝙍

The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—
Your faithfulness as well—
in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,
and awesome above all who surround Him.

O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?
O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You. 𝙍

You rule the raging sea;
when its waves mount up, You still them.
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.
The earth and its fullness You founded.
North and south You created;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 𝙍

Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.
Your right hand is exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
They rejoice in Your name all day long,
and in Your righteousness they exult.
For You are the glory of their strength,
and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

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: O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?

Psalm prayer

As we sing of your love, O Lord,
anoint us with the Spirit’s seal,
that we may praise your faithfulness
and proclaim your truth from age to age;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Job 38

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Who is this who obscures My counsel
by words without knowledge?
Now brace yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know!
Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its foundations set,
or who laid its cornerstone,
while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Who enclosed the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its blanket,
when I fixed its boundaries
and set in place its bars and doors,
and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther;
here your proud waves must stop’?

In your days, have you commanded the morning
or assigned the dawn its place,
that it might spread to the ends of the earth
and shake the wicked out of it?
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
Light is withheld from the wicked,
and their upraised arm is broken.

Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea
or walked in the trenches of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have you surveyed the extent of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

Where is the way to the home of light?
Do you know where darkness resides,
so you can lead it back to its border?
Do you know the paths to its home?
Surely you know, for you were already born!
And the number of your days is great!

Have you entered the storehouses of snow
or observed the storehouses of hail,
which I hold in reserve for times of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?
In which direction is the lightning dispersed,
or the east wind scattered over the earth?

Who cuts a channel for the flood
or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a barren land,
on a desert where no man lives,
to satisfy the parched wasteland
and make it sprout with tender grass?
Does the rain have a father?
Who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb does the ice emerge?
Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
when the waters become hard as stone
and the surface of the deep is frozen?

Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loosen the belt of Orion?
Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Can you command the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?
Can you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Who has put wisdom in the heart
or given understanding to the mind?
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
when the dust hardens into a mass
and the clods of earth stick together?

Can you hunt the prey for a lioness
or satisfy the hunger of young lions
when they crouch in their dens
and lie in wait in the thicket?
Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
as they wander about for lack of food?

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 15:1-13

We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.” For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to Your name.”

Again, it says:

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

And again:

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and extol Him, all you peoples.”

And once more, Isaiah says:

“The Root of Jesse will appear,
One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles;
in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
You are the God who does wonders.
You have made your strength known amongst the peoples.

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.

Refrain:
You are the God who does wonders.
You have made your strength known amongst the peoples.

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:

All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions

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

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

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 forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our 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,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.