Morning Prayer

Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”

Luke 15:18, 19



Invitatory and Psalter

BCP p. 42

Officiant O Lord, open thou our lips.
People
And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing unto the Lord *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God *
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the corners of the earth *
and the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it *
and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is the Lord our God *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts *
as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;

When your fathers tempted me *
proved me, and saw my works.

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said *
It is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways;

Unto whom I sware in my wrath *
that they should not enter into my rest.

Psalm 88

O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee *
O let my prayer enter into thy presence, incline thine ear unto my calling.

For my soul is full of trouble *
and my life draweth nigh unto hell.

I am counted as one of them that go down into the pit *
and I have been even as a man that hath no strength.

Free among the dead, like unto them that are wounded, and lie in the grave *
who are out of remembrance, and are cut away from thy hand.

Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit *
in a place of darkness, and in the deep.

Thine indignation lieth hard upon me *
and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms.

Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me *
and made me to be abhorred of them.

I am so fast in prison *
that I cannot get forth.

My sight faileth for very trouble *
Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.

Dost thou shew wonders among the dead *
or shall the dead rise up again, and praise thee?

Shall thy loving-kindness be shewed in the grave *
or thy faithfulness in destruction?

Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark *
and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten?

Unto thee have I cried, O Lord *
and early shall my prayer come before thee.

Lord, why abhorrest thou my soul *
and hidest thou thy face from me?

I am in misery, and like unto him that is at the point to die *
even from my youth up thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind.

Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me *
and the fear of thee hath undone me.

They came round about me daily like water *
and compassed me together on every side.

My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me *
and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.





The Lessons

The First Lesson Jeremiah 11:1-8,14-20

A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” And the LORD said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not. As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? The LORD once called you, “A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit”; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.

It was the LORD who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!” But you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

14. A Song of Penitence Prayer of Manasseh 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15

O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:

You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their vast array.

All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they tremble because of your power.

But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.

O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.

You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we deserve.

In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.

And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.

I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my wickedness only too well.

Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.

Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.

For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and in me you will show forth your goodness.

Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.

For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.

The Second Lesson Rom. 6:1-11

A Reading from the Letter to the Romans.

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

18. A Song to the Lamb Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by right, O Lord our God,

For you created everything that is, *
and by your will they were created and have their being;

And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,

From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to Christ the Lamb,

Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for ever and for evermore.

The Apostles’ Creed BCP p. 53

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers BCP p. 54



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

The Lord’s Prayer

Our 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.

Suffrages A

V. O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
R.
And grant us thy salvation.
V.
Endue thy ministers with righteousness;
R.
And make thy chosen people joyful.
V.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.
For only in thee can we live in safety.
V.
Lord, keep this nation under thy care;
R.
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V.
Let thy way be known upon earth;
R.
Thy 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 thy Holy Spirit.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



A Collect for Fridays

Almighty 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 the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission

O God, who hast made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after thee and find thee; bring the nations into thy fold; pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of thy kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.





The General Thanksgiving BCP p. 58

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we thine unworthy servants
do give thee most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for thine inestimable 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 beseech thee,
give us that due sense of all thy mercies,
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful;
and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to thy service,
and by walking before thee
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost,
be all honor and glory, world without end. 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