Morning Prayer

Friday after the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200

The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. Amen.John 4:23

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

ost merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory and Psalter

V:	Lord, open our lips.
R:	And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Alleluia.

Psalm 100

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

e joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

¹

Lord, my God, my Savior, *
by day and night I cry to you.

²

Let my prayer enter into your presence; *
incline your ear to my lamentation.

³

For I am full of trouble; *
my life is at the brink of the grave.

⁴

I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; *
I have become like one who has no strength;

⁵

Lost among the dead, *
like the slain who lie in the grave,

⁶

Whom you remember no more, *
for they are cut off from your hand.

⁷

You have laid me in the depths of the Pit, *
in dark places, and in the abyss.

⁸

Your anger weighs upon me heavily, *
and all your great waves overwhelm me.

⁹

You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them; *
I am in prison and cannot get free.

¹⁰

My sight has failed me because of trouble; *
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.

¹¹

Do you work wonders for the dead? *
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?

¹²

Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave? *
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?

¹³

Will your wonders be known in the dark? *
or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?

¹⁴

But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help; *
in the morning my prayer comes before you.

¹⁵

Lord, why have you rejected me? *
why have you hidden your face from me?

¹⁶

Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; *
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.

¹⁷

Your blazing anger has swept over me; *
your terrors have destroyed me;

¹⁸

They surround me all day long like a flood; *
they encompass me on every side.

¹⁹

My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, *
and darkness is my only companion.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Lessons

A Reading from the First Book of Maccabees.

hen the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, ⁴²and that all should give up their particular customs. ⁴³All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. ⁴⁴And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, ⁴⁵to forbid burnt-offerings and sacrifices and drink-offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and festivals, ⁴⁶to defile the sanctuary and the priests, ⁴⁷to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean animals, ⁴⁸and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, ⁴⁹so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances. ⁵⁰He added, ‘And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die.’

In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice, town by town. ⁵²Many of the people, everyone who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land; ⁵³they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.

Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt-offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah, ⁵⁵and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. ⁵⁶The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. ⁵⁷Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the king. ⁵⁸They kept using violence against Israel, against those who were found month after month in the towns. ⁵⁹On the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the altar of burnt-offering. ⁶⁰In accordance with the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, ⁶¹and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers’ necks.

But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. ⁶³They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Song of the Three Young Men, 29-34

lory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.

Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.

Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.

Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew.

ow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

ou are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

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 power of 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.

The Prayers

Officiant	The Lord be with you.
People	And also with you.
Officiant	Let us pray.

ur 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,
for ever and ever. Amen.

V.	Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R.	And grant us your salvation.
V.	Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R.	Let your people sing with joy.
V.	Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.	For only in you can we live in safety.
V.	Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R.	And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V.	Let your way be known upon earth;
R.	Your saving health among all nations.
V.	Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R.	Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V.	Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R.	And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

lmighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

lmighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

lmighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Romans 15:13

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