Wednesday –
Year 2 Advent 1
Morning Prayer
In
the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight
in the
desert a highway for our God. Isaiah
40:3
Lord, open our lips.
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.
Be joyful in the
Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come
before his presence with a song.
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.
Enter his gates
with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks
to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is
good;
his mercy is
everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
1 Happy are
those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the
law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who
seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but
walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts
to
be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
in
keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to
shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your
commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when
I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your
statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
9 How can young people keep their way pure?
By
guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek
you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that
I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach
me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all
the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your
decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will
meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on
your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I
will not forget your word.
17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
so
that I may live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I
may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19
I live as an alien in the land;
do not hide your
commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for
your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent,
accursed ones,
who wander from your
commandments;
22 take away from me their scorn and
contempt,
for I have kept your decrees.
23
Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your
servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your decrees are my
delight,
they are my counsellors.
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.
Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part* of a bed.
Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,
says
the Lord God, the God of hosts:
On the day I punish Israel
for its transgressions,
I will punish the altars
of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and
fall to the ground.
I will tear down the winter house as well as
the summer house;
and the houses of ivory shall
perish,
and the great houses*
shall come to an end,
says the Lord.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan
who
are on Mount Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the
needy,
who say to their husbands, ‘Bring
something to drink!’
The Lord God has sworn by
his holiness:
The time is surely coming
upon you,
when they shall take you away with hooks,
even
the last of you with fish-hooks.
Through breaches in the wall you
shall leave,
each one straight ahead;
and
you shall be flung out into Harmon,*
says the Lord.
Come to Bethel—and transgress;
to
Gilgal—and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices
every morning,
your tithes every three days;
bring a thank-offering of leavened bread,
and
proclaim freewill-offerings, publish them;
for
so you love to do, O people of Israel!
says the Lord God.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 11 The Third Song of Isaiah
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and
your God will be your glory.
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.
Reading
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father* went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Canticle 16
Blessed be the
Lord, the God of Israel;*
he has come to his people and set them
free.
He has raised up
for us a mighty savior,*
born of the house of his servant
David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would
save us from our enemies,*
from the hands of all who hate us.
he promised to
show mercy to our fathers*
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath
he swore to our father Abraham,*
to set us free from the hands of
our enemies,
Free to worship
him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days
of our life.
You, my child,
shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go
before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his
people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender
compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To
shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,*
and
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 for ever. Amen.
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
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
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Our 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.
Save us from the
time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
Govern and uphold them, now and always.
Day by day we bless you;
We praise your name for ever.
Lord, keep us from all sin today;
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain.
Collect of the Day: The First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
O God, the author
of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to
serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all
assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense,
may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
For
Mission
Almighty
and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole
body of your
faithful people is governed and sanctified:
Receive
our supplications and prayers which we offer before
you for all
members of your holy Church, that in their
vocation and ministry
they may truly and devoutly serve you;
through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray now
for our own needs and those of others.
General Thanksgiving
Almighty 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.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God
whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or
imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church,
and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21