Tue. morning Aug. 18
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare 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
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior
Confession of Sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 87
𝙍: The LORD has chosen Zion for himself.
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon
to those who know Me;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush:
“This one was born there.”
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,”
for the Most High Himself will establish her.
The LORD will record when He registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.”
The singers and the players of instruments say,
“All my springs 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: The LORD has chosen Zion for himself.
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
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Mercy will be built up forever;
Your faithfulness will be established in the heavens.”
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build up your throne for all generations.’ ”
Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD,
Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around Him.
O LORD God of Hosts, who is as mighty as You, O LORD?
Your faithfulness surrounds You.
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, You still them.
You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
The heavens are Yours; the earth also is Yours;
the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.
The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is Your hand, and exalted is Your right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
mercy and truth go before Your presence.
Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout.
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
and in Your righteousness they are exalted.
For You are the glory of their strength;
by Your favor our horn is exalted.
For 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.
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
2 Samuel 5:1-12
All of the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one leading Israel out and in. Also, the LORD said to you: You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.”
So all of the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the LORD at Hebron. They anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. He reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and he reigned over all of Israel and Judah from Jerusalem for thirty-three years.
The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who were living in the land. They said to David, “You will not enter here; even the blind and the lame will turn you away”—thinking, “David cannot enter here.” Nevertheless, David overthrew the stronghold of Zion, which is now the City of David.
David said on that day, “Whoever defeats the Jebusites, let him go through the water shaft to reach the lame and the blind, who are despised by David.” Therefore, it is said, “The blind and lame shall not come into the house.”
So David occupied the stronghold, and he called it the City of David. He built on all sides from the terraces inward. David went on and became great, because the LORD, the God of Hosts, was with him.
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar wood, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a house for David. Then David understood that the LORD had appointed him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 7:1-16
Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran, and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’
“Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Harran. When his father died, He removed him from there to this land in which you now live. He gave him no inheritance in it, nor a foothold, and promised to give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him while he had no child. God spoke in this way, ‘Your descendants shall be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who will enslave them and mistreat them four hundred years. And I will judge the nation to whom they will be enslaved,’ said God. ‘After that they shall come out and worship Me in this place.’ Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
“The patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his house.
“Then a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan with great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. During the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five souls. Then Jacob went down into Egypt. And he and our fathers died, and were carried to Shechem and put in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a price of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way 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.
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:
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, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.