Oremus for Saturday, March 6, 2021

Antiphon¹

Ant. The Lord says:
“I am pondering thoughts of peace and not of affliction*
you shall call upon me, and I will hear you;
and I will bring you back from all the lands
where you are held captive.”
V. O Lord, you have favored your land, *
and brought back the captives of Jacob.
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. Jeremiah 29; 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/ufxekitx

God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory 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.

HYMN: John L Bell and Graham Maule ©
Tune: Salley Gardens https://tinyurl.com/hj23n9b4

1 Inspired by love and anger,
disturbed by need and pain,
informed of God’s own bias,
we ponder once again:
‘How long must some folk suffer?
How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self-interest
turn prayer and pity blind?’

2 From those forever victims
of heartless human greed,
their cruel plight composes
a litany of need:
‘Where are the fruits of justice?
Where are the signs of peace?
When is the day when prisoners
and dreams find their release?’

3 From those forever shackled
to what their wealth can buy,
the fear of lost advantage
provokes the bitter cry,
‘Don’t query our position!
Don’t criticize our wealth!
Don’t mention those exploited
by politics and stealth!’

4 To God, who through the prophets
proclaimed a different age,
we offer earth’s indifference,
its agony and rage:
‘When will the wrongs be righted?
When will the kingdom come?
When will the world be generous
to all instead of some?’

5 God asks, ‘Who will go for me?
Who will extend my reach?
And who, when few will listen,
will prophesy and preach?
And who, when few bid welcome,
will offer all they know?
And who, when few dare follow,
will walk the road I show?’

6 Amused in someone’s kitchen,
asleep in someone’s boat,
attuned to what the ancients
exposed, proclaimed and wrote,
a saviour without safety,
a tradesman without tools
has come to tip the balance
with fishermen and fools.

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

Psalm 30 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yce59yvo)

1  I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up *
 and not made my foes to triumph over me.
2  O Lord my God, I cried unto thee *
 and thou hast healed me.
3  Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell *
 thou hast kept my life from them that go down to the pit.
4  Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his *
 and give thanks unto him for a remembrance of his holiness.
5  For his wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye,
and in his pleasure is life *
 heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
6  And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be removed *
 thou, Lord, of thy goodness hast made my hill so strong.
7  Thou didst turn thy face from me *
 and I was troubled.
8  Then cried I unto thee, O Lord *
 and gat me to my Lord right humbly.
9  What profit is there in my blood *
 when I go down to the pit?
10  Shall the dust give thanks unto thee *
 or shall it declare thy truth?
11  Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me *
 Lord, be thou my helper.
12  Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy *
 thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.
13  Therefore shall every good man sing of thy praise without ceasing *
 O my God, I will give thanks unto thee 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.

Psalm 31 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y869qwtz)

1  In thee, O Lord, have I put my trust *
 let me never be put to confusion, deliver me in thy righteousness.
2  Bow down thine ear to me *
 make haste to deliver me.
3  And be thou my strong rock, and house of defence *
 that thou mayest save me.
4  For thou art my strong rock, and my castle *
 be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name’s sake.
5  Draw me out of the net, that they have laid privily for me *
 for thou art my strength.
6  Into thy hands I commend my spirit *
 for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
7  I have hated them that hold of superstitious vanities *
 and my trust hath been in the Lord.
8  I will be glad, and rejoice in thy mercy *
 for thou hast considered my trouble,
and hast known my soul in adversities.
9  Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy *
 but hast set my feet in a large room.
10  Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble *
 and mine eye is consumed for very heaviness;
yea, my soul and my body.
11  For my life is waxen old with heaviness *
 and my years with mourning.
12  My strength faileth me, because of mine iniquity *
 and my bones are consumed.
13  I became a reproof among all mine enemies,
but especially among my neighbours *
 and they of mine acquaintance were afraid of me;
and they that did see me without conveyed themselves from me.
14  I am clean forgotten, as a dead man out of mind *
 I am become like a broken vessel.
15  For I have heard the blasphemy of the multitude *
 and fear is on every side, while they conspire together against me,
and take their counsel to take away my life.
16  But my hope hath been in thee, O Lord *
 I have said, Thou art my God.
17  My time is in thy hand; deliver me from the hand of mine enemies *
 and from them that persecute me.
18  Shew thy servant the light of thy countenance *
 and save me for thy mercy’s sake.
19  Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee *
 let the ungodly be put to confusion, and be put to silence in the grave.
20  Let the lying lips be put to silence *
 which cruelly, disdainfully, and despitefully, speak against the righteous.
21  O how plentiful is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee *
 and that thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in thee,
even before the sons of men!
22  Thou shalt hide them privily by thine own presence
from the provoking of all men *
 thou shalt keep them secretly in thy tabernacle from the strife of tongues.
23  Thanks be to the Lord *
 for he hath shewed me marvellous great kindness in a strong city.
24  And when I made haste, I said *
 I am cast out of the sight of thine eyes.
25  Nevertheless, thou heardest the voice of my prayer *
 when I cried unto thee.
26  O love the Lord, all ye his saints *
 for the Lord preserveth them that are faithful,
and plenteously rewardeth the proud doer.
27  Be strong, and he shall establish your heart *
 all ye that put your trust in 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

Loving God,
glorious in giving and restoring life,
do not hide your face from your people overcome with loneliness and fear.
Turn our weeping into dancing,
our despair into joy,
and raise us up with Christ,
that we may rejoice in your presence forever. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Nahum 1:1-8

An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,
   the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
   and rages against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,
   and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,
   and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
   and he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither,
   and the bloom of Lebanon fades.
The mountains quake before him,
   and the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
   the world and all who live in it.

Who can stand before his indignation?
   Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
   and by him the rocks are broken in pieces.
The Lord is good,
   a stronghold on a day of trouble;
he protects those who take refuge in him,
   even in a rushing flood.
He will make a full end of his adversaries,
   and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

HYMN: Psalm 38; para. Helen Otte ©
Tune: Bourbon https://tinyurl.com/yfpz55r7

1 Rebuke me not in anger, LORD; 
your arrows wound and bring despair. 
My guilt is like a heavy load 
that is too much for me to bear. 

2 My sinful folly brought me low; 
bowed down, I groan in anguished grief. 
I have no strength, for I am crushed 
and spend my days with no relief. 

3 You know my sighs and weakness, Lord, 
my blinded eyes and throbbing heart. 
Friends and companions stand far off 
while others plot to seek my hurt. 

4 My mouth is mute, I cannot speak; 
my ear is deaf, I cannot hear. 
I wait for you to answer, LORD, 
to silence those who boast and jeer. 

5 My pain is ever with me, LORD, 
for I have sinned against your laws. 
My foes are mighty those who hate 
and slander me without a cause. 

6 Do not forsake me, O my LORD; 
do not go far from me, my God. 
Come quickly, help me now, I pray, 
O Lord, my Savior and my God. 

Reading: Hebrews 9:1-14

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence; this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holy of Holies. In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat. Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.

Such preparations having been made, the priests go continually into the first tent to carry out their ritual duties; but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year, and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent is still standing. This is a symbol of the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.

But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: Bevan https://tinyurl.com/ujm8c28b

1 Jesus, my great High Priest,
offered his blood and died;
my guilty conscience seeks
no sacrifice beside.
His pow’rful blood did once atone,
and now it pleads before the throne.

2 To this dear Surety’s hand
will I commit my cause;
he answers and fulfills
his Father’s broken laws.
Behold my soul at freedom set,
my Surety paid the dreadful debt.

3 My Advocate appears
for my defense on high;
the Father bows his ears
and lays his thunder by.
Not all that hell or sin can say
shall turn his heart, his love, away.

4 Should all the hosts of death
and pow’rs of hell unknown
put their most dreadful forms
of rage and mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays
his conqu’ring pow’r and guardian grace.

Reading: Matthew 21:12-22

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers.’

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself”?’ He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’

CANTICLE Jonah 2:2-9
(Patrick Schlabs: https://tinyurl.com/yy9zwfv6)

You cast me out into the deep
And there your floods surround
I sank beneath the raging sea
As billows crashed around
I was thrown out from your sight
And I was driven away
I know I will see with my eyes
Again your holy place
Refrain:
I called to God in my distress
He has heard my voice
I cried to him out of the depths
He answered my call, he answered my call

The waters closed in over me
They came to bring me death
I was covered up by the deep
Weeds choked out my breath
I sank down to the mountain roots
The earth had locked me in
Just as the grave sealed up its gates
You saved me from the pit Refrain

As my life fainted away
I remembered you my God
All those who hope in idols vain
Forsake their hope of loveI called to God in my distress
He has heard my voice
I cried to him out of the depths
He answered my call

So with my voice I will give thanks
A sacrifice to you
What I have vowed I now will pay
Salvation comes from you
Salvation comes from you
Salvation comes from you

THE PRAYERS ^CCP

Send forth your strength, O God,
Establish what you have wrought in us.

Uphold all those who fall
And raise up those who are bowed down.

Open the eyes of the blind
And set the prisoners free.

Sustain the orphan and widow
And give food to those who hunger.

Grant them the joy of your help again
And sustain them with your Spirit.

O Lord, judge the peoples
And take all nations for your own.

(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 it is in heaven.
Give us today the bread of life;
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.

Lord Jesus Christ,
who stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross
that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace:
So clothe us in your Spirit
that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you
to the knowledge and love of you;
for the honor of your name. Amen. ^BCW

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.

^DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.

^CCP Celebrating Common Prayer, © The European Province of the Society of Saint Francis 1992

^EH Exciting Holiness © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997

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.