Wednesday –
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.
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.
38
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your
anger; *
do not punish me in your wrath.
2 For your arrows
have already pierced me, *
and your hand presses hard upon me.
3 There is no health in my flesh,
because of your indignation;
*
there is no soundness in my body, because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities overwhelm me; *
like a heavy burden they are too
much for me to bear.
5 My wounds stink and fester *
by
reason of my foolishness.
6 I am utterly bowed down and
prostrate; *
I go about in mourning all the day long.
7 My
loins are filled with searing pain; *
there is no health in my
body.
8 I am utterly numb and crushed; *
I wail, because of
the groaning of my heart.
9 O Lord, you know all my desires,
*
and my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart is
pounding, my strength has failed me, *
and the brightness of my
eyes is gone from me.
11 My friends and companions draw back
from my affliction; *
my neighbors stand afar off.
12 Those
who seek after my life lay snares for me; *
those who strive to
hurt me speak of my ruin
and plot treachery all the day long.
13
But I am like the deaf who do not hear, *
like those who are mute
and do not open their mouth.
14 I have become like one who
does not hear *
and from whose mouth comes no defense.
15
For in you, O Lord, have I fixed my hope; *
you will answer me, O
Lord my God.
16 For I said, "Do not let them rejoice at my expense,
*
those who gloat over me when my foot slips."
17
Truly, I am on the verge of falling, *
and my pain is always with
me.
18 I will confess my iniquity *
and be sorry for my
sin.
19 Those who are my enemies without cause are mighty,
*
and many in number are those who wrongfully hate me.
20
Those who repay evil for good slander me, *
because I follow the
course that is right.
21 O Lord, do not forsake me; *
be
not far from me, O my God.
22 Make haste to help me, *
O
Lord of my salvation.
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.
This is what the
Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit.*
He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A
basket of summer fruit.’*
Then the Lord said to me,
‘The end*
has come upon my people Israel;
I will never
again pass them by.
The songs of the temple*
shall become wailings on that day,’
says the Lord God;
‘the dead bodies shall be
many,
cast out in every place. Be silent!’
Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and
bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will
the new moon be over
so that we may sell
grain;
and the sabbath,
so that we may offer
wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel
great,
and practise deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver
and the needy for
a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of
the wheat.’
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I
will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble
on this account,
and everyone mourn who
lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and
be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
On that day, says the Lord God,
I will
make the sun go down at noon,
and darken
the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into
mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I
will bring sackcloth on all loins,
and baldness
on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only
son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.
The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when
I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a
thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of
the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and
from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of
the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
In that day the beautiful young women and the young
men
shall faint for thirst.
Those who swear
by Ashimah of Samaria,
and say, ‘As
your god lives, O Dan’,
and, ‘As the way of
Beer-sheba lives’—
they shall fall,
and never rise again.
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
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,* and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.* And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.* The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
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: 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 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