Sunday –
Year 2 Advent 2
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.
Come let us sing
to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come
before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to
him with psalms.
For the Lord is a
great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are
the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his
also.
The sea is his,
for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow
down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our
God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his
hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
Glory
be 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.
148
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the
heavens; *
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you
angels of his; *
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him,
sun and moon; *
praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him,
heaven of heavens, *
and you waters above the heavens.
5
Let them praise the Name of the Lord; *
for he commanded, and they
were created.
6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever;
*
he gave them a law which shall not pass away.
7 Praise
the Lord from the earth, *
you sea-monsters and all deeps;
8
Fire and hail, snow and fog, *
tempestuous wind, doing his
will;
9 Mountains and all hills, *
fruit trees and all
cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle, *
creeping things
and winged birds;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
*
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and
maidens, *
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the
Name of the Lord, *
for his Name only is exalted,
his splendor
is over earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up strength for his
people
and praise for all his loyal servants, *
the children of
Israel, a people who are near him.
Hallelujah!
149
1
Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing his praise in
the congregation of the faithful.
2 Let Israel rejoice in his
Maker; *
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3
Let them praise his Name in the dance; *
let them sing praise to
him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in
his people *
and adorns the poor with victory.
5 Let the
faithful rejoice in triumph; *
let them be joyful on their
beds.
6 Let the praises of God be in their throat *
and a
two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To wreak vengeance on the
nations *
and punishment on the peoples;
8 To bind their
kings in chains *
and their nobles with links of iron;
9 To
inflict on them the judgment decreed; *
this is glory for all his
faithful people.
Hallelujah!
150
1
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy temple; *
praise him in the
firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts; *
praise him for his
excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the blast of the
ram's-horn; *
Praise him with lyre and harp.
4 Praise him
with timbrel and dance; *
praise him with strings and pipe.
5
Praise him with resounding cymbals; *
praise him with
loud-clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath
*
praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!
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.
Alas for those
who are at ease in Zion,
and for those who
feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the
nations,
to whom the house of Israel resorts!
Cross over to Calneh, and see;
from there go
to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath
of the Philistines.
Are you better*
than these kingdoms?
Or is your*
territory greater than their*
territory,
O you that put far away the evil day,
and
bring near a reign of violence?
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,
and
lounge on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock,
and
calves from the stall;
who sing idle songs to the sound
of the harp,
and like David improvise
on instruments of music;
who drink wine from bowls,
and
anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are
not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore they shall now be
the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of
the loungers shall pass away.
The Lord God has sworn by himself
(says the Lord, the God
of hosts):
I abhor the pride of Jacob
and
hate his strongholds;
and I will deliver up the
city and all that is in it.
If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. And if a relative, one who burns the dead,* shall take up the body to bring it out of the house, and shall say to someone in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ the answer will come, ‘No.’ Then the relative* shall say, ‘Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.’
See, the Lord commands,
and the great
house shall be shattered to bits,
and the little
house to pieces.
Do horses run on rocks?
Does
one plough the sea with oxen?*
But
you have turned justice into poison
and the
fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
you who rejoice in
Lo-debar,*
who
say, ‘Have we not by our own strength
taken
Karnaim*
for ourselves?’
Indeed, I am raising up against you a
nation,
O house of Israel, says the Lord,
the God of hosts,
and they shall oppress you from
Lebo-hamath
to the Wadi Arabah.
The
Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 11
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.
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
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this name.’ Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel,
for he has looked favourably on his
people and redeemed them.
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.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Sundays
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. 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.
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