Oremus for Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Antiphon¹

Ant. O Lord, you have blessed your land, *
you have put an end to Jacob’s captivity;
you have forgiven the guilt of your people.
V. You forgave the guilt of your people, *
and covered all their sins.
You averted all your rage; *
you turned back the heat of your anger. Psalm 85

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires, known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
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.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!

HYMN: Edward H Plumptre
Tune: St Matthew https://tinyurl.com/y4qn3jn6

1 Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
was strong to heal and save;
it triumphed o’er disease and death,
o’er darkness and the grave:
to thee they went, the deaf, the dumb,
the palsied and the lame,
the beggar with his sightless eyes,
the sick with fevered frame.

2 And lo, thy touch brought life and health,
gave speech and strength and sight;
and youth renewed and frenzy calmed
owned thee, the Lord of light:
and now, O Lord, be near to bless,
almighty as of yore,
in crowded street, by restless couch,
as by Gennesareth’s shore.

3 Be thou our great deliverer still,
thou Lord of life and death;
restore and quicken, soothe and bless,
with thine almighty breath:
to hands that work, and eyes that see,
give wisdom’s heavenly lore,
that whole and sick, and weak and strong,
may praise thee evermore.

PSALMS
For psalms in contemporary language, https://tinyurl.com/y9tjh7rk

Psalm 104 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/uaqp2t4)

1  Praise the Lord, O my soul *
 O Lord my God, thou art become exceeding glorious;
thou art clothed with majesty and honour.
2  Thou deckest thyself with light as it were with a garment *
 and spreadest out the heavens like a curtain.
3  Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters *
 and maketh the clouds his chariot,
and walketh upon the wings of the wind.
4  He maketh his angels spirits *
 and his ministers a flaming fire.
5  He laid the foundations of the earth *
 that it never should move at any time.
6  Thou coveredst it with the deep like as with a garment *
 the waters stand in the hills.
7  At thy rebuke they flee *
 at the voice of thy thunder they are afraid.
8  They go up as high as the hills, and down to the valleys beneath *
 even unto the place which thou hast appointed for them.
9  Thou hast set them their bounds which they shall not pass *
 neither turn again to cover the earth.
10  He sendeth the springs into the rivers *
 which run among the hills.
11  All beasts of the field drink thereof *
 and the wild asses quench their thirst.
12  Beside them shall the fowls of the air have their habitation *
 and sing among the branches.
13  He watereth the hills from above *
 the earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.
14  He bringeth forth grass for the cattle *
 and green herb for the service of men;
15  That he may bring food out of the earth,
and wine that maketh glad the heart of man *
 and oil to make him a cheerful countenance,
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16  The trees of the Lord also are full of sap *
 even the cedars of Libanus which he hath planted;
17  Wherein the birds make their nests *
 and the fir-trees are a dwelling for the stork.
18  The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats *
 and so are the stony rocks for the conies.
19  He appointed the moon for certain seasons *
 and the sun knoweth his going down.
20  Thou makest darkness that it may be night *
 wherein all the beasts of the forest do move.
21  The lions roaring after their prey *
 do seek their meat from God.
22  The sun ariseth, and they get them away together *
 and lay them down in their dens.
23  Man goeth forth to his work, and to his labour *
 until the evening.
24  O Lord, how manifold are thy works *
 in wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches.
25  So is the great and wide sea also *
 wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26  There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan *
 whom thou hast made to take his pastime therein.
27  These wait all upon thee *
 that thou mayest give them meat in due season.
28  When thou givest it them they gather it *
 and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good.
29  When thou hidest thy face they are troubled *
 when thou takest away their breath they die,
and are turned again to their dust.
30  When thou lettest thy breath go forth they shall be made *
 and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
31  The glorious Majesty of the Lord shall endure for ever *
 the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
32  The earth shall tremble at the look of him *
 if he do but touch the hills, they shall smoke.
33  I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live *
 I will praise my God while I have my being.
34  And so shall my words please him *
 my joy shall be in the Lord.
35  As for sinners, they shall be consumed out of the earth,
and the ungodly shall come to an end *
 praise thou the Lord, O my soul, praise the Lord.
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.

PRAYER Book of Common Worship

God of majesty,
we are constantly surrounded by your gifts
and touched by your grace;
our words of praise do not approach the wonders of your love.
Send forth your Spirit,
that our lives may be refreshed
and the whole world may be renewed,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Numbers 27:12-23

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, and see the land that I have given to the Israelites. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarrelled with me. You did not show my holiness before their eyes at the waters.’ (These are the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ‘Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd.’ So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; have him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. You shall give him some of your authority, so that all the congregation of the Israelites may obey. But he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim before the Lord; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation.’ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation; he laid his hands on him and commissioned him—as the Lord had directed through Moses.

HYMN: Psalm 21; para. Michael Morgan ©
Tune: Detroit https://tinyurl.com/ycwta8pc

1 To your unequaled strength, O Lord,
your chosen ones aspire;
bring to the just sure victory,
and grant their hearts’ desire.

2 The rulers of the Lord’s elect
wear crowns of finest gold;
their lives, once empty, now through faith
shall burst with wealth untold.

3 The ones who honor you as Lord,
to such shall honor come;
and those in whom goodwill abides
in you will find a home.

4 In wrath our enemies will fall,
your arm puts them to flight;
we gain our blessings by your grace,
and victory through your might.

Reading: Romans 9:25-33

As indeed God says in Hosea,
‘Those who were not my people I will call “my people”,
   and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved”. ’
‘And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people”,
   there they shall be called children of the living God.’

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.’ And as Isaiah predicted,
‘If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us,
   we would have fared like Sodom
   and been made like Gomorrah.’

What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, as it is written, ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’

HYMN: Anonymous
Tune: from Mendelssohn’s Elijah https://tinyurl.com/y3dsre3g

Cast your burden upon the Lord,
and he shall sustain you;
he never will suffer the righteous to fall:
he is at your right hand.
Your mercy, Lord, is great
and far above the heavens:
let none by made ashamed
that wait upon you.

Reading: Mark 3:7-19a

Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

CANTICLE Isaiah 55:6-11
(Setting by Gregory Wilbur: https://tinyurl.com/yawmg8fp)

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
Call ye upon him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts:

And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
My ways and thoughts are higher than yours.

And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

For as the rain cometh down, and snow from heaven,
And maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to sow,
that it may give bread to eat.

So shall my world be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please it shall prosper
in the thing whereunto I sent it.

THE PRAYERS ^BCW

God of all mercies, we praise you that you have brought us to this new day, brightening
our lives with the dawn of promise and hope in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
the warmth of sunlight, the wetness of rain and snow, and all that nourishes the earth…
the presence and power of your Spirit . . .
the support and encouragement we receive from others . . .
those who provide for public safety and well-being . . .
the mission of the church around the world. . . .

Merciful God, strengthen us in prayer that we may lift up the brokenness of this
world for your healing, and share in the saving love of Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
those in positions of authority over others . . .
the lonely and forgotten . . .
children without families or homes . . .
agents of caring and relief . . .
the church in Asia and the Middle East. . . .

(Plainsong Mode 2: https://tinyurl.com/yctqq8cf)^DL

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;
and 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.

God of compassion,
you have opened the way for us
and brought us to yourself.
Pour your love into our hearts,
that, overflowing with joy,
we may freely share the blessings of your realm
and faithfully proclaim the good news of Christ. Amen. ^RCLP

Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14

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^BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.

^EH Exciting Holiness, Ed. Brother Tristram SSF © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997

^RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.

¹ Adam Bartlett, Simple English Propers; audio from https://musicasacra.com/additional-publications/sep-practice-videos/ ©

The three main scripture readings are from the The New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Edition, The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the 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.

The psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662).

Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.

Compilation © 2020 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.