Opening response

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

All your saints will bless you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom.

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

A Thousand Oracles Divine

Charles Wesley

A thousand oracles divine
Their common beams unite,
That sinners may with angels join
To worship God aright.

To praise a Trinity adored
By all the hosts above,
And one thrice-holy God and Lord
Through endless ages love.

Triumphant host! they never cease
To laud and magnify
The triune God of holiness,
Whose glory fills the sky.

Whose glory to this earth extends,
When God himself imparts,
And the whole Trinity descends
Into our faithful hearts.

By faith the upper choir we meet,
And challenge them to sing
Jehovah on his shining seat,
Our maker and our king.

But God made flesh is wholly ours,
And asks our nobler strain;
The Father of celestial powers,
The friend of earthborn man!

Ye seraphs nearest to the throne,
With rapturous amaze
On us, poor ransomed worms look down
For heaven’s superior praise.

The king whose glorious face ye see,
For us his crown resigned;
That fullness of the Deity,
He died for all mankind!

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 O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets hang 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 mist,
like the early dew that vanishes.
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 80

Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Rally Your mighty power
and come to save us.
Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will Your anger smolder
against the prayers of Your people?
You fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
You make us contend with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.
Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the Sea,
and its shoots toward the River.

Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and the creatures of the field feed upon it.
Return, O God of Hosts, we pray!
Look down from heaven and see!
Attend to this vine—
the root Your right hand has planted,
the son You have raised up for Yourself.

Your vine has been cut down and burned;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand,
on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

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.

Psalm prayer

Faithful shepherd of your people,
as we look for the light of your countenance,
restore in us the image of your glory
and graft us into the risen life of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 82

𝙍: Arise, O God, judge the earth.

God presides in the divine assembly;
He renders judgment among the gods:

“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked. 𝙍

They do not know or understand;
they wander in the darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I have said, ‘You are gods;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
But like mortals you will die,
and like rulers you will fall.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are Your inheritance.

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: Arise, O God, judge the earth.

Psalm prayer

God our deliverer,
when the foundations are shaken
and justice has departed,
defend the poor and needy
and give your people strength to fight all wrong
in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 26:1-13

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;
salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—
one that remains faithful.
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind,
because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
For He has humbled those who dwell on high;
He lays the lofty city low.
He brings it down to the ground;
He casts it into the dust.
Feet trample it down—
the feet of the oppressed,
the steps of the poor.

The path of the righteous is level;
You clear a straight path for the upright.
Yes, we wait for You, O LORD;
we walk in the path of Your judgments.
Your name and renown
are the desire of our souls.
My soul longs for You in the night;
indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn.
For when Your judgments come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.
Though grace is shown to the wicked man,
he does not learn righteousness.
In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly
and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.

O LORD, Your hand is upraised,
but they do not see it.
They will see Your zeal for Your people
and be put to shame.
The fire set for Your enemies
will consume them!
O LORD, You will establish peace for us.
For all that we have accomplished,
You have done for us.
O LORD our God, other lords besides You have had dominion,
but Your name alone do we confess.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 12:22-37

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure. But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: Look towards the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming from God.

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: Look towards the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming from God.

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, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, 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.