Oremus for Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Antiphon¹

Ant. He who meditates day and night on the law of the Lord,
shall bear fruit in due season.
V. Blessed indeed is the man *
who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the path with sinners, *
nor abides in the company of scorners. Psalm 1; Psalm 30

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: Herman G Stuempfle ©
Tune: Detroit https://tinyurl.com/ycwta8pc

1 Deliver us, O Lord of Truth,
From speech unbacked by deed,
From lives that by their faithlessness
Deny our spoken creed.

2 For you have taught that weightless words
Are like the shifting sand.
When storm and flood come raging in,
They give no place to stand.

3 When we with bold, familiar phrase
Confess that you are Lord,
You ask for lives whose faithfulness
Supports our spoken word.

4 Lord, help us build on solid rock
No floods can undermine.
May actions follow words we speak;
Let creed with deed combine.

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

Psalm 120 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/wmagrmt)

1  When I was in trouble I called upon the Lord *
 and he heard me.
2  Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips *
 and from a deceitful tongue.
3  What reward shall be given or done unto thee, thou false tongue *
 even mighty and sharp arrows, with hot burning coals.
4  Woe is me, that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech *
 and to have my habitation among the tents of Kedar.
5  My soul hath long dwelt among them *
 that are enemies unto peace.
6  I labour for peace, but when I speak unto them thereof *
 they make them ready to battle.
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 121 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/wlpcmlp)

1  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills *
 from whence cometh my help.
2  My help cometh even from the Lord *
 who hath made heaven and earth.
3  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved *
 and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel *
 shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5  The Lord himself is thy keeper *
 the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
6  So that the sun shall not burn thee by day *
 neither the moon by night.
7  The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil *
 yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
8  The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in *
 from this time forth for evermore.
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 122 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/uwbt7e3)

1  I was glad when they said unto me *
 We will go into the house of the Lord.
2  Our feet shall stand in thy gates *
 O Jerusalem.
3  Jerusalem is built as a city *
 that is at unity in itself.
4  For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord *
 to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
5  For there is the seat of judgement *
 even the seat of the house of David.
6  O pray for the peace of Jerusalem *
 they shall prosper that love thee.
7  Peace be within thy walls *
 and plenteousness within thy palaces.
8  For my brethren and companions’ sakes *
 I will wish thee prosperity.
9  Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God *
 I will seek to do thee good.
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 123 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/vqr5s45)

1  Unto thee lift I up mine eyes *
 O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2  Behold, even as the eyes of servants look
unto the hand of their masters,
and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress *
 even so our eyes wait upon the Lord Our God,
until he have mercy upon us.
3  Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us *
 for we are utterly despised.
4  Our soul is filled with the scornful reproof of the wealthy *
 and with the despitefulness of the proud.
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 124 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/w9ocmm5)

1  If the Lord himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say *
 if the Lord himself had not been on our side,
when men rose up against us;
2  They had swallowed us up quick *
 when they were so wrathfully displeased at us.
3  Yea, the waters had drowned us *
 and the stream had gone over our soul.
4  The deep waters of the proud *
 had gone even over our soul.
5  But praised be the Lord *
 who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.
6  Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler *
 the snare is broken, and we are delivered.
7  Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord *
 who hath made heaven and 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 125 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/s7phzdz)

1  They that put their trust in the Lord shall be even as the mount Sion *
 which may not be removed, but standeth fast for ever.
2  The hills stand about Jerusalem *
 even so standeth the Lord round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
3  For the rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot of the righteous *
 lest the righteous put their hand unto wickedness.
4  Do well, O Lord *
 unto those that are good and true of heart.
5  As for such as turn back unto their own wickedness *
 the Lord shall lead them forth with the evil-doers;
but peace shall be upon Israel.
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

Lord Jesus,
because there was no peace in Jerusalem,
you wept hard tears.
Bring all nations under your rule
that they make peace
and, with thanksgiving
enter together the heavenly Jerusalem
where you live and reign with the Father
and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Judges 11:29-40

Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’ So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’ She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’ And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’ ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

HYMN: Henry Scott Holland
Tune: Rhuddlan https://tinyurl.com/yxfjloyk

1 Judge eternal, throned in splendour,
Lord of lords and King of kings,
with thy living fire of judgment
purge this realm of bitter things:
solace all its wide dominion
with the healing of thy wings.

2 Still the weary folk are pining
for the hour that brings release:
and the city’s crowded clangour
cries aloud for sin to cease;
and the homesteads and the woodlands
plead in silence for their peace.

3 Crown, O Lord, thine own endeavour;
cleave our darkness with thy sword;
cheer the faint and feed the hungry
with the richness of thy word;
cleanse the body of this nation
through the glory of the Lord.

Reading: Romans 8:1-13

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

HYMN: Christian Fuchtegott Gellert; trans. Frances Elizabeth Cox
Tune: St Albinus https://tinyurl.com/ybkygl6z

1 Jesus lives! thy terrors now
can, O death, no more appal us;
Jesus lives! by this we know
thou, O grave, canst not enthral us.
Alleluia.

2 Jesus lives! henceforth is death
but the gate of life immortal:
this shall calm our trembling breath,
when we pass its gloomy portal.
Alleluia.

3 Jesus lives! for us he died;
then, alone to Jesus living,
pure in heart may we abide,
glory to our Saviour giving.
Alleluia.

4 Jesus lives! our hearts know well
naught from us his love shall sever;
life nor death nor powers of hell
tear us from his keeping ever.
Alleluia.

5 Jesus lives! to him the throne
over all the world is given:
may we go where he is gone,
rest and reign with him in heaven.
Alleluia.

Reading: Matthew 7:15-20

Jesus continued, ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.’

CANTICLE Song of the Three Young Men 29-34
(Setting by Timothy R. Smith: https://tinyurl.com/ycrdhlqc)

Refrain:
Glory and praise, glory and praise, glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
and blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all ages. Refrain

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Refrain

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Refrain

Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Refrain

THE PRAYERS ^BCW

Loving God, as the rising sun chases away the night, so you have scattered the
power of death in the rising of Jesus Christ, and you bring us all blessings in him.
Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church . . .
those with whom we work or share common concerns . . .
the diversity of your children . . .
indications of your love at work in the world . . .
those who work for reconciliation. . . .

Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would
destroy or harm, and you brighten the lives of all who need you.
Especially we pray for
families suffering separation . . .
people different from ourselves . . .
those isolated by sickness or sorrow . . .
the victims of violence or warfare . . .
the church in the Pacific region. . . .

(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.

From your mouth, O God,
come mercy and righteousness,
and out of the abundance of your heart
you have given us your Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ.
Pour out your Spirit of integrity upon us,
that all we say and do
may befit a people made in your image
and baptized into the dying and rising of your Son. 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.