Oremus for Saturday, March 13, 2021

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/4upbec74

Where charity and love are found, there is God.
The love of Christ has gathered us together into one.
Let us rejoice and be glad in him.
Let us fear and love the living God,
and love each other from the depths of our heart.

Where charity and love are found, there is God.
Therefore when we are together,
let us take heed not be divided in mind.
Let there be an end to bitterness and quarrels, an end to strife,
and in our midst be Christ our God.

Where charity and love are found, there is God.
And, in company with the blessed, may we see
your face in glory, Christ our God,
pure and unbounded joy for ever and for ever.
Where charity and love are found, there is God.

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: George Croly
Tune: Morecambe https://tinyurl.com/2jd46r9c

1 Spirit of God, dwell thou within my heart;
wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,
and make me love thee as I ought to love.

2 Hast thou not bid us love thee, God and King?
All, all thine own, soul, heart, and strength and mind.
I see thy cross–there teach my heart to cling:
O let me seek thee, and O let me find.

3 Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;
teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
to check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

4 Teach me to love thee as thine angels love,
one holy passion filling all my frame;
the baptism of the heav’n-descended Dove,
my heart an altar, and thy love the flame.

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

Psalm 68 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ybgjjxjc)

1  Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered *
 let them also that hate him flee before him.
2  Like as the smoke vanisheth, so shalt thou drive them away *
 and like as wax melteth at the fire,
so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God.
3  But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God *
 let them also be merry and joyful.
4  O sing unto God, and sing praises unto his Name *
 magnify him that rideth upon the heavens, as it were upon an horse;
praise him in his Name JAH, and rejoice before him.
5  He is a Father of the fatherless, and defendeth the cause of the widows *
 even God in his holy habitation.
6  He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in an house,
and bringeth the prisoners out of captivity *
 but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness.
7  O God, when thou wentest forth before the people *
 when thou wentest through the wilderness,
8  The earth shook, and the heavens dropped at the presence of God *
 even as Sinai also was moved at the presence of God, who is the God of Israel.
9  Thou, O God, sentest a gracious rain upon thine inheritance *
 and refreshedst it when it was weary.
10  Thy congregation shall dwell therein *
 for thou, O God, hast of thy goodness prepared for the poor.
11  The Lord gave the word *
 great was the company of the preachers.
12  Kings with their armies did flee, and were discomfited *
 and they of the household divided the spoil.
13  Though ye have lien among the pots,
yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove *
 that is covered with silver wings, and her feathers like gold.
14  When the Almighty scattered kings for their sake *
 then were they as white as snow in Salmon.
15  As the hill of Basan, so is God’s hill *
 even an high hill, as the hill of Basan.
16  Why hop ye so, ye high hills? this is God’s hill,
in the which it pleaseth him to dwell *
 yea, the Lord will abide in it for ever.
17  The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels *
 and the Lord is among them, as in the holy place of Sinai.
18  Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive,
and received gifts for men *
 yea, even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
19  Praised be the Lord daily *
 even the God who helpeth us, and poureth his benefits upon us.
20  He is our God, even the God of whom cometh salvation *
 God is the Lord, by whom we escape death.
21  God shall wound the head of his enemies *
 and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his wickedness.
22  The Lord hath said, I will bring my people again, as I did from Basan *
 mine own will I bring again, as I did sometime from the deep of the sea.
23  That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies *
 and that the tongue of thy dogs may be red through the same.
24  It is well seen, O God, how thou goest *
 how thou, my God and King, goest in the sanctuary.
25  The singers go before, the minstrels follow after *
 in the midst are the damsels playing with the timbrels.
26  Give thanks, O Israel, unto God the Lord in the congregations *
 from the ground of the heart.
27  There is little Benjamin their ruler,
and the princes of Judah their counsel *
 the princes of Zabulon, and the princes of Nephthali.
28  Thy God hath sent forth strength for thee *
 stablish the thing, O God, that thou hast wrought in us,
29  For thy temple’s sake at Jerusalem *
 so shall kings bring presents unto thee.
30  When the company of the spear-men,
and multitude of the mighty are scattered abroad
among the beasts of the people,
so that they humbly bring pieces of silver *
 and when he hath scattered the people that delight in war;
31  Then shall the princes come out of Egypt *
 the Morians’ land shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
32  Sing unto God, O ye kingdoms of the earth *
 O sing praises unto the Lord;
33  Who sitteth in the heavens over all from the beginning *
 lo, he doth send out his voice, yea, and that a mighty voice.
34  Ascribe ye the power to God over Israel *
 his worship, and strength is in the clouds.
35  O God, wonderful art thou in thy holy places *
 even the God of Israel;
he will give strength and power unto his people;
blessed be God.
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,
you came to us in our bondage,
and led us to freedom by the cross and resurrection.
May our lives praise you,
and our lips proclaim your mighty power to all people
that they may find their hope in you,
and live to your honor and glory,
now and forever. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Numbers 20:22-29

They set out from Kadesh, and the Israelites, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, ‘Let Aaron be gathered to his people. For he shall not enter the land that I have given to the Israelites, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and bring them up Mount Hor; strip Aaron of his vestments, and put them on his son Eleazar. But Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there.’ Moses did as the Lord had commanded; they went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his vestments, and put them on his son Eleazar; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron for thirty days.

HYMN: John H Sammis
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/d4sref3e

1 When we walk with the Lord 
in the light of his word, 
what a glory he sheds on our way! 
While we do his good will, 
he abides with us still, 
and with all who will trust and obey. 

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way 
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

2 Not a burden we bear, 
not a sorrow we share, 
but our toil he doth richly repay; 
not a grief or a loss, 
not a frown or a cross, 
but is blest if we trust and obey. [Refrain]

3 But we never can prove 
the delights of his love 
until all on the altar we lay; 
for the favor he shows, 
for the joy he bestows, 
are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]

4 Then in fellowship sweet 
we will sit at his feet, 
or we’ll walk by his side in the way; 
what he says we will do, 
where he sends we will go; 
never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]

Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: Darwall https://tinyurl.com/pmrtffxk

1 Join all the glorious names
of wisdom, love, and pow’r,
that ever mortals knew,
that angels ever bore:
all are too poor to speak his worth,
too poor to set my Savior forth.

2 Great Prophet of my God,
my tongue would bless thy name:
by thee the joyful news
of our salvation came,
the joyful news of sins forgiv’n,
of hell subdued and peace with heav’n.

3 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.

4 Thou art my Counselor,
my pattern, and my Guide,
and thou my Shepherd art;
O keep me near thy side;
nor let my feet e’er turn astray
to wander in the crooked way.

5 My Savior and my Lord,
my Conqu’ror and my King,
thy scepter and thy sword,
thy reigning grace, I sing:
thine is the pow’r; behold I sit 
in willing bonds beneath thy feet.

Reading: Matthew 22:34-46

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
   until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

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.

Beloved Companion,
you deal with us kindly in steadfast love,
lifting up those bent low with care
and sustaining the weak and oppressed.
Release us from our anxious fears,
that we, holding fast to your commandments,
may honor you with all that we are and all that we have. 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.

^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.