Oremus for Thursday, February 4, 2021

Antiphon¹

Ant. My heart declared to you: *
Your countenance have I sought;
I shall ever seek your countenance, O Lord;
do not turn your face from me.
V. The Lord is my light and my salvation; *
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; *
whom should I dread? Psalm 27

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: Joseph Hart
Tune: Restoration https://tinyurl.com/frlwj74d

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
Refrain
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh. Refrain

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all. Refrain

Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him. Refrain

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

Psalm 22 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/tcvjnwc)

1  My God, my God, look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me *
 and art so far from my health, and from the words of my complaint?
2  O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not *
 and in the night-season also I take no rest.
3  And thou continuest holy *
 O thou worship of Israel.
4  Our fathers hoped in thee *
 they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them.
5  They called upon thee, and were holpen *
 they put their trust in thee, and were not confounded.
6  But as for me, I am a worm, and no man *
 a very scorn of men, and the out-cast of the people.
7  All they that see me laugh me to scorn *
 they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying,
8  He trusted in God, that he would deliver him *
 let him deliver him, if he will have him.
9  But thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb *
 thou wast my hope, when I hanged yet upon my mother’s breasts.
10  I have been left unto thee ever since I was born *
 thou art my God even from my mother’s womb.
11  O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand *
 and there is none to help me.
12  Many oxen are come about me *
 fat bulls of Basan close me in on every side.
13  They gape upon me with their mouths *
 as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.
14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint *
 my heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax.
15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue cleaveth to my gums *
 and thou shalt bring me into the dust of death.
16  For many dogs are come about me *
 and the council of the wicked layeth siege against me.
17  They pierced my hands and my feet; I may tell all my bones *
 they stand staring and looking upon me.
18  They part my garments among them *
 and cast lots upon my vesture.
19  But be not thou far from me, O Lord *
 thou art my succour, haste thee to help me.
20  Deliver my soul from the sword *
 my darling from the power of the dog.
21  Save me from the lion’s mouth *
 thou hast heard me also from among the horns of the unicorns.
22  I will declare thy Name unto my brethren *
 in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23  O praise the Lord, ye that fear him *
 magnify him, all ye of the seed of Jacob,
and fear him, all ye seed of Israel;
24  For he hath not despised, nor abhorred,
the low estate of the poor *
 he hath not hid his face from him,
but when he called unto him he heard him.
25  My praise is of thee in the great congregation *
 my vows will I perform in the sight of them that fear him.
26  The poor shall eat, and be satisfied *
 they that seek after the Lord shall praise him; your heart shall live for ever.
27  All the ends of the world shall remember themselves,
and be turned unto the Lord *
 and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him.
28  For the kingdom is the Lord’s *
 and he is the Governor among the people.
29  All such as be fat upon earth *
 have eaten, and worshipped.
30  All they that go down into the dust shall kneel before him *
 and no man hath quickened his own soul.
31  My seed shall serve him *
 they shall be counted unto the Lord for a generation.
32  They shall come, and the heavens shall declare his righteousness *
 unto a people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made.
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 23 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/swfdhyk)

1  The Lord is my shepherd *
 therefore can I lack nothing.
2  He shall feed me in a green pasture *
 and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
3  He shall convert my soul *
 and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name’s sake.
4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil *
 for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
5  Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me *
 thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
6  But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life *
 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
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 Christ, our good shepherd,
in the waters of Baptism you give us birth,
and at your table you nourish us with heavenly food.
In your goodness and mercy,
lead us along safe paths,
beyond the terrors of evil and death,
to the house of the Lord
where we may rest securely in you forever. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Judges 16:1-22

Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her. The Gazites were told, ‘Samson has come here.’ So they encircled the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, ‘Let us wait until the light of the morning; then we will kill him.’ But Samson lay only until midnight. Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, ‘Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’ So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.’ Samson said to her, ‘If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’ Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fibre snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you could be bound.’ He said to her, ‘If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’ So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ (The men lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me how you could be bound.’ He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web, and made them tight with the pin. Then she said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

Then she said to him, ‘How can you say, “I love you”, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.’ Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death. So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, ‘A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.’

When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken, and his strength left him. Then she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him. So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

HYMN: Philipp Doddridge
Tune: Naomi https://tinyurl.com/4djv5qzo

1 A present God is all our strength,
And all our joy and hope;
When he withdraws, our comforts die,
And every grace must droop.

2 But flattering trifles charm our hearts
To court their false embrace,
Till justly this neglected friend
Averts his angry face.

3 He leaves us and we miss him not;
But go presumptuous on,
Till baffled, wounded, and enslaved,
We learn that God is gone.

4 And what, my soul, can then remain
One ray of light to give?
Severed from him, their better life,
How can his children live?

5 Hence, all ye painted forms of joy,
And leave my heart to mourn:
I would devote these eyes to tears,
Till cheered by his return.

6 Look back, my Lord, and own the place,
Where once thy temple stood;
For lo, its ruins bear the mark
Of rich atoning blood.

Reading: Romans 11:1-24

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.’ But what is the divine reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
‘God gave them a sluggish spirit,
   eyes that would not see
   and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.’
And David says,
‘Let their table become a snare and a trap,
   a stumbling-block and a retribution for them;
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and keep their backs for ever bent.’

So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead! If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not vaunt yourselves over the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. You will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God’s kindness towards you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.

HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: Farnham https://tinyurl.com/42hrvqgs

Father, I sing thy wondrous grace,
I bless my Savior’s name;
He bought salvation for the poor,
And bore the sinner’s shame.

His deep distress has raised us high;
His duty and his zeal
Fulfilled the law which mortals broke,
And finished all thy will.

His dying groans, his living songs,
Shall better please my God
Than harp or trumpet’s solemn sound,
Than goat’s or bullock’s blood.

This shall his humble followers see,
And set their hearts at rest
They by his death draw near to thee,
And live for ever blest.

Let heav’n and all that dwell on high
To God their voices raise,
While lands and seas assist the sky,
And join t’ advance the praise.

Zion is thine, most holy God,
Thy Son shall bless her gates;
And glory purchased by his blood
For thy own Isr’el waits.

Reading: Matthew 9:1-8

And after getting into a boat Jesus crossed the water and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralysed man lying on a bed. When he saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Then some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.

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 ^BCW

We give you our praise and thanks, O God, for all gifts of love we have received
from you, and for your persistent mercy in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
work we have accomplished pleasing to you . . .
the faithful witness of Christian people . . .
the example of righteousness we see in parents and teachers . . .
the innocence and openness we see in children . . .
all works of Christian compassion. . . .

We give you our cares and concerns, O God, because we know you are kind and
care for your children in every circumstance. Especially we pray for
those who struggle with doubt and despair . . .
people afflicted with disease . . .
those called to special ministries . . .
people neglected or abused . . .
Baptist, Disciples of Christ, and other free churches. . . .

Setting by Eric Wyse:²

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.

Faithful God,
the fulfillment of your promise in Christ
has brought new life to all creation:
the forgiveness of sins and our restoration to wholeness.
Anoint us with your Spirit
that we may be alert and mindful ministers
of your gracious will to save,
and persevere in bringing into your presence
all that is broken and in need of healing,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 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

---

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

^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/ ©

2 Eric Wyse, Lord’s Prayer, ©; audio from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_a40ME7aVk

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.