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

Inspirer of the ancient seers

Charles Wesley

Inspirer of the ancient seers
Who wrote from thee the sacred page,
The same through all succeeding years;
To us, in our degenerate age,
The spirit of thy word impart,
And breathe the life into our heart.

While now thine oracles we read
With earnest prayer and strong desire,
O let thy Spirit from thee proceed,
Our souls to awaken and inspire,
Our weakness help, our darkness chase,
And guide us by the light of grace.

Whenever in error’s path we rove,
The living God through sin forsake,
Our conscience by thy word reprove,
Convince and bring the wanderers back,
Deep wounded by thy Spirit’s sword,
And then by Gilead’s balm restored.

The sacred lessons of thy grace,
Transmitted through thy word, repeat,
And train us up in all thy ways
To make us in thy will complete;
Fulfill thy love’s redeeming plan,
And bring us to a perfect man.

Thus furnished from thy treasury,
O may we always ready stand
To help the souls redeemed by thee,
In what their various states demand
To teach, convince, correct, reprove,
And build them up in holiest love!

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for his loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 56

𝘙: In God I trust. I will not be afraid.

Be merciful to me, O God,
for men are hounding me;
all day they press their attack.
My enemies pursue me all day long,
for many proudly assail me.

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust.
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me? 𝘙

All day long they twist my words;
all their thoughts are on my demise.
They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.
In spite of such sin, will they escape?
In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

You have taken account of my wanderings.
Put my tears in Your bottle—
are they not in Your book? 𝘙

Then my enemies will retreat
on the day I cry for help.
By this I will know that God is on my side.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Your vows are upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
For You have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

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: In God I trust. I will not be afraid.

Psalm prayer

Faithful God,
your deliverance is nearer than we know;
free us from fear
and help us to find courage in your Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,
for in You my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter
until the danger has passed.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills His purpose for me.
He reaches down from heaven and saves me;
He rebukes those who trample me.

God sends forth
His loving devotion and His truth.
My soul is among the lions;
I lie down with ravenous beasts—
with men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet;
my soul was despondent.
They dug a pit before me,
but they themselves have fallen into it!

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing Your praises among the peoples.
For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens,
and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.

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

Tender God,
gentle protector in time of trouble,
pierce the gloom of despair
and give us, with all your people,
the song of freedom and the shout of praise;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

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

1 Samuel 21:1-22:5

Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

“The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”

“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”

David answered, “Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out. And the equipment of the young men is holy, as it is even on common missions, and all the more at this time.”

So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.

Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

Then David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business was urgent.”

The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one.”

And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying:

‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”

Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.

Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me? Am I in need of madmen, that you have brought this man to rave in my presence? Must this man come into my house?”

So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I learn what God will do for me.” So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.

Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Depart and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Acts 2:22-36

Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

David says about Him:

‘I saw the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will dwell in hope,
because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’

Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.” ’

Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

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: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He 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:

Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations

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

Response

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
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.