Oremus for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Antiphon¹

Ant. Jerusalem, built as a city
whose parts are bound firmly together!
It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,
to give thanks unto your name, O Lord.
V. I rejoiced when they said to me, *
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
And now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
There were set the thrones for judgment, *
the thrones of the house of David. Psalm 122

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.

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: Charles Wesley
Tune: Helmsley https://tinyurl.com/y52m79q9

1 Lo! he comes with clouds descending,
once for our salvation slain;
thousand, thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign.

2 Every eye shall now behold him,
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at nought and sold him,
pierced, and nailed him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
deeply wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.

3 Those dear tokens of his passion
still his dazzling body bears,
cause of endless exultation
to his ransomed worshipers;
with what rapture, with what rapture,
with what rapture,
gaze we on those glorious scars!

4 Yea, amen! let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.

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

Psalm 82 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/razmhgg)

1  God standeth in the congregation of princes *
 he is a Judge among gods.
2  How long will ye give wrong judgement *
 and accept the persons of the ungodly?
3  Defend the poor and fatherless *
 see that such as are in need and necessity have right.
4  Deliver the out-cast and poor *
 save them from the hand of the ungodly.
5  They will not be learned nor understand, but walk on still in darkness *
 all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
6  I have said, Ye are gods *
 and ye are all the children of the most Highest.
7  But ye shall die like men *
 and fall like one of the princes.
8  Arise, O God, and judge thou the earth *
 for thou shalt take all heathen to thine inheritance.
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 83 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/vofvsch)

1  Hold not thy tongue, O God, keep not still silence *
 refrain not thyself, O God.
2  For lo, thine enemies make a murmuring *
 and they that hate thee have lift up their head.
3  They have imagined craftily against thy people *
 and taken counsel against thy secret ones.
4  They have said, Come, and let us root them out,
that they be no more a people *
 and that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5  For they have cast their heads together with one consent *
 and are confederate against thee;
6  The tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ismaelites *
 the Moabites, and Hagarens;
7  Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek *
 the Philistines, with them that dwell at Tyre.
8  Assur also is joined with them *
 and have holpen the children of Lot.
9  But do thou to them as unto the Madianites *
 unto Sisera, and unto Jabin at the brook of Kison;
10  Who perished at Endor *
 and became as the dung of the earth.
11  Make them and their princes like Oreb and Zeb *
 yea, make all their princes like as Zeba and Salmana;
12  Who say, Let us take to ourselves *
 the houses of God in possession.
13  O my God, make them like unto a wheel *
 and as the stubble before the wind;
14  Like as the fire that burneth up the wood *
 and as the flame that consumeth the mountains.
15  Persecute them even so with thy tempest *
 and make them afraid with thy storm.
16  Make their faces ashamed, O Lord *
 that they may seek thy Name.
17  Let them be confounded and vexed ever more and more *
 let them be put to shame, and perish.
18  And they shall know that thou, whose Name is Jehovah *
 art only the most Highest over all the earth.
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 84 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/qtssfwx)

1  O how amiable are thy dwellings *
 thou Lord of hosts!
2  My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord *
 my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
3  Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house,
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young *
 even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
4  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house *
 they will be alway praising thee.
5  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee *
 in whose heart are thy ways.
6  Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well *
 and the pools are filled with water.
7  They will go from strength to strength *
 and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion.
8  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer *
 hearken, O God of Jacob.
9  Behold, O God our defender *
 and look upon the face of thine Anointed.
10  For one day in thy courts *
 is better than a thousand.
11  I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God *
 than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
12  For the Lord God is a light and defence *
 the Lord will give grace and worship,
and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.
13  O Lord God of hosts *
 blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.
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 85 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/wzy6e5z)

1  Lord, thou art become gracious unto thy land *
 thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.
2  Thou hast forgiven the offence of thy people *
 and covered all their sins.
3  Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure *
 and turned thyself from thy wrathful indignation.
4  Turn us then, O God our Saviour *
 and let thine anger cease from us.
5  Wilt thou be displeased at us for ever *
 and wilt thou stretch out thy wrath from one generation to another?
6  Wilt thou not turn again, and quicken us *
 that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7  Shew us thy mercy, O Lord *
 and grant us thy salvation.
8  I will hearken what the Lord God will say concerning me *
 for he shall speak peace unto his people,
and to his saints, that they turn not again.
9  For his salvation is nigh them that fear him *
 that glory may dwell in our land.
10  Mercy and truth are met together *
 righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11  Truth shall flourish out of the earth *
 and righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
12  Yea, the Lord shall shew loving-kindness *
 and our land shall give her increase.
13  Righteousness shall go before him *
 and he shall direct his going in the way.
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

God of grace,
you loved the world so much
that you gave your only Son to be our Savior.
Help us to rejoice in your redeeming grace
by showing mercy,
and by walking in the way of justice and peace,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, redeemer of the world. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Malachi 3:6-12

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

HYMN: William Bengo Collyer
Tune: Abends https://tinyurl.com/yd8hdhwk

1 Return, O wanderer, return,
And seek an injured Father’s face;
Those warm desires that in thee burn
Were kindled by reclaiming grace.

2 Return, O wanderer, return
And seek a Father’s melting heart;
His pitying eyes thy grief discern,
His hand can heal thy inward smart.

3 Return, O wanderer, return;
Thy Savior bids thy spirit live.
Go to His bleeding feet and learn
How freely Jesus can forgive.

4 Return, O wanderer, return
And wipe away the falling tear;
‘Tis God who says, “No longer mourn;”
‘Tis Mercy’s voice invites thee near.

Reading: 2 Peter 2:1-10a

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgement; and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on a world of the ungodly; and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement —especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority.

HYMN: Carol M Bechtel ©
Tune: Kingsfold https://tinyurl.com/y33ull2w

1 O when will we see justice done?
When will the righteous win?
O speed the day when we can say,
“God judges human sin!”
The venom of the wicked’s lies
destroys all in their path.
Their fangs are bared; no one is spared,
and to our cries they’re deaf.

Refrain:
God, hear my cry!
To you I call even when my heart is faint.
To your strong tower lead me in power,
and keep me ever safe.

2 Deliver me, O God my strength,
from those who lie in wait,
from enemies who prowl and plot,
whose only law is hate.
But you, O Lord, could come and save,
deflating their false pride, 
and show the earth your righteous worth
as in your love we hide. [Refrain]

3 O God, have you rejected us,
or do you only sleep?
Give victory with your mighty hand,
your promises to keep.
For you have caused our land to quake;
no step now seems secure.
We stagger in our suffering;
our faith seems less than sure. [Refrain]

Reading: Mark 13:24-27

Jesus continued, ‘But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
   and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
   and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.’

CANTICLE Isaiah 12:1-6
(Stephen Wozny https://tinyurl.com/y8lfq94d)

You will say on that day:
I will give thanks to the Lord,
Though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
and you comforted me
Refrain:
So give thanks to the Lord, and call on his name,
Shout, and sing for joy, all you daughters of Zion,
He is with you now, the Son of God!
He is with you now, the Son of God.

Behold, my God is salvation; I will not be afraid;
The Lord, my God, is my song; I will sing of all he’s done,
and make everything known Refrain

I will sing his name! I will sing his name!
I will sing his name for all the world and everyone!
Sing his name! I will sing his name!
I will sing his name for all the world and everyone!
Sing his name! I will sing his name!
I will sing his name for all the world and everyone!
He is with you now, the Son of God.

THE PRAYERS ^WS2

God, our hope,
we rejoice that you became flesh and made your dwelling among us,
even as we long for your return.
As we wait, our hearts overflow with gratitude:
for the beauty of creation . . .
for your work in the world . . .
for signs of peace and reconciliation . . .
for our community and its leaders . . .
for your work accomplished through your church, especially for . . .

For all these reasons and so much more we give you praise.
As we celebrate the first coming of your Son as a helpless child,
we also yearn for his return,
for the day in which there will be no more sorrow, pain, or death.
Today we remember in prayer:
the nations of the world . . .
those in authority . . .
the needs of the community . . .
the church universal, its mission, and those who minister . . .
the local congregation and its ministry, especially . . .
those with particular needs . . .

We offer these prayers in the name Jesus Christ, our source of hope. Amen.

(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, who winnows the wheat from the chaff:
let the fire of your Spirit purge us of greed and deceit,
so that, purified, we may find our peace in you
and you may delight in us.
Grant this through him whose coming is certain
and whose day draws near,
Jesus, the Lord of the harvest. Amen. ^ICEL

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.

^WS2 The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd edition, © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources

^ICEL ICEL Opening Prayers, 1998 as revised in GS 2016 Trial Use Collects, Anglican Church of Canada.

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.