Wed. morning Aug. 5
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
And Can It Be
Confession of Sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
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 faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. 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 119:57-80
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
You are my portion, O LORD;
I have promised to keep Your words.
I entreated Your favor with all my heart;
be merciful to me according to Your word.
I considered my ways,
and turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I hurried and delayed not
to keep Your commandments.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
The bands of the wicked have bound me,
but I have not forgotten Your law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
because of Your righteous judgments.
I am a companion of all those who fear You,
and of those who keep Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
teach me Your statutes.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep Your word.
You are good and do good;
teach me Your statutes.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
The proud have forged a lie against me,
but I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Their heart is insensitive, like fat,
but I delight in Your law.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I might learn Your statutes.
The law of Your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
because I have hoped in Your word.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
Let, I pray, Your lovingkindness comfort me,
according to Your word unto Your servant.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
for Your law is my delight.
Let the proud be ashamed, for they wronged me with guile;
but I will meditate on Your precepts.
Let those who fear You turn to me,
those who know Your testimonies.
Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
so that I may not be ashamed.
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: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Psalm prayer
God our comforter, send your Holy Spirit to reveal your hidden mercy even in our failures and troubles; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Samuel 20:18-42
Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. When you have stayed three days, you will surely go down and come to the place where you hid yourself on the day this happened, and wait there beside the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows to its side, as though I shot at a target. And behold, I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then come, for it will be safe for you. And as the LORD lives, it is nothing of concern. But if I say to the young man, ‘See, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the LORD has sent you away. As for the matter upon which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”
So David hid himself in the field. And when the New Moon appeared, the king sat down over food to eat. Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on a seat by the wall. Then Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” It happened on the following day, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place remained empty. So Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat food either yesterday or today?”
And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave from me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to come. Now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me leave and see my brothers.’ This is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
Then Saul was angry with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now, send and bring him to me, for he is a dead man.”
Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” So Saul cast a spear at him to strike him. Therefore Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.
And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the month. For he was grieved for David, because his father had dishonored him.
In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy was with him. And he said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows which I shoot.” He ran, and he shot the arrow over him. When the boy came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” Then Jonathan cried after the boy, “Hurry quickly! Do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrow and came to his master. But the boy did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”
When the boy had gone, David rose from the south side of the stone, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more.
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since the two of us swore in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, but Jonathan went into the city.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
Now dwelling in Jerusalem were Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, the crowd came together and were confounded, because each man heard them speaking in his own language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to each other, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear, each in our own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages the mighty works of God.” They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, “What does this mean?”
Others mocking said, “These men are full of new wine.”
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days it shall be,’ says God,
‘that I will pour out My Spirit on all people;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even on My menservants and maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in heaven above
and signs on the earth below:
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
And whoever calls
on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
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:
The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
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, 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.