Morning Prayer (Mattins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer on Sunday
Sunday, 6 October 2024
The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

The Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day (page 108) may replace the Preparation as the start of Morning Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

One of these prayers of thanksgiving (page 109),

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
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.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

(or)

Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
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.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

after Lancelot Andrewes (1626)

or a suitable hymn,

or the Benedicite – a Song of Creation (shorter version)

1Bless the Lord all you works of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

2Bless the Lord you heavens: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

3Bless the Lord you angels of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

4Bless the Lord all people on earth: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

5O people of God bless the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

6Bless the Lord you priests of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

7Bless the Lord you servants of the Lord: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

8Bless the Lord all you of upright spirit: ♦
bless the Lord you that are holy and humble in heart.

The Song of the Three 35-37, 60-65

AllBless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: ♦
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

This opening prayer may be said

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 for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 123

Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.

1 To you I lift up my eyes, ♦
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.

2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, ♦
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

3 So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, ♦
until he have mercy upon us. R

4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, ♦
for we have had more than enough of contempt.

5 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, ♦
and of the contempt of the proud.

Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.

Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens,
look upon us with your eyes of mercy,
as we look on you with humility and love,
and fill our souls with your peace
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 124

Refrain: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

1 If the Lord himself had not been on our side, ♦
now may Israel say;

2 If the Lord had not been on our side, ♦
when enemies rose up against us;

3 Then would they have swallowed us alive ♦
when their anger burned against us;

4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us
and the torrent gone over our soul; ♦
over our soul would have swept the raging waters. R

5 But blessed be the Lord ♦
who has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

6 Our soul has escaped
as a bird from the snare of the fowler; ♦
the snare is broken and we are delivered.

7 Our help is in the name of the Lord, ♦
who has made heaven and earth.

Refrain: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

O God, maker of heaven and earth,
you save us in the water of baptism
and by the suffering of your Son you set us free;
help us to put our trust in his victory
and to know the salvation won for us
by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Isaiah 49.13-23

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
   break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
   and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
   my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
   or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
   yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
   your walls are continually before me.
Your builders outdo your destroyers,
   and those who laid you waste go away from you.
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
   they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
   you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
   and like a bride you shall bind them on.

Surely your waste and your desolate places
   and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
   and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
The children born in the time of your bereavement
   will yet say in your hearing:
‘The place is too crowded for me;
   make room for me to settle.’
Then you will say in your heart,
   ‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
   exiled and put away—
   so who has reared these?
I was left all alone—
   where then have these come from?’

Thus says the Lord God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
   and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
Kings shall be your foster-fathers,
   and their queens your nursing-mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
   and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
   those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Canticle

A Song of David, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 32 (page 583) or number 50 (page 602), may be said

Refrain:

AllSplendour and majesty are yours, O God;
you are exalted as head over all. Alleluia.

1Blessed are you, God of Israel, for ever and ever, ♦
for yours is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour and the majesty.

2Everything in heaven and on earth is yours; ♦
yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
and you are exalted as head over all.

3Riches and honour come from you ♦
and you rule over all.

4In your hand are power and might; ♦
yours it is to give power and strength to all.

5And now we give you thanks, our God, ♦
and praise your glorious name.

6For all things come from you, ♦
and of your own have we given you.

1 Chronicles 29.10b-13, 14b

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllSplendour and majesty are yours, O God;
you are exalted as head over all. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Luke 12.1-12

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands, so that they trampled on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead
AllAnd Christ shall give you light.
You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.
AllAwake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on the earth.
AllAnd Christ shall give you light.
When Christ our life appears you will appear with him in glory.
AllAwake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give you light.

from Colossians 3

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or the Easter Anthems (page 634) may be said

Refrain:

AllYou have raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllYou have raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ The universal Church
¶ Bishops, synods and all who lead the Church
¶ The leaders of the nations
¶ The natural world and the resources of the earth
¶ All who are in any kind of need

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
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 for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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 for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.

© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from Church House Publishing.

The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002-2021.