Oremus for Saturday, March 27, 2021

Antiphon¹

Ant. The Lamb who has been slain *
is worthy to receive power, and divinity,
and wisdom, and strength, and honor;
let glory and dominion be his for ever and ever.
V. O God, give your judgment to the king, *
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice, *
and your poor in right judgment. Revelation 5; Psalm 72

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: Adam M. L. Tice
Tune: McKee https://tinyurl.com/4dpbasx9

1 The church of Christ cannot be bound 
by walls of wood or stone. 
Where charity and love are found, 
there can the church be known.

2 True faith will open up the door 
and step into the street. 
True service will seek out the poor 
and ask to wash their feet.

3 True love will not sit idly by 
when justice is denied. 
True mercy hears the homeless cry 
and welcomes them inside.

4 If what we have we freely share 
to meet our neighbor’s need, 
then we extend the Spirit’s care 
through ev’ry selfless deed.

5 The church of Christ cannot be bound
by walls of wood or stone. 
Where charity and love are found, 
there can the church be known.

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: Jeremiah 33:10-16

Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without human beings or animals’, in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without inhabitants, human or animal, there shall once more be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank-offerings to the house of the Lord:
‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
   for the Lord is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever!’
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without human beings or animals, and in all its towns there shall again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the Shephelah, and of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

HYMN: Henry Scott Holland
Tune: Rhuddlan https://tinyurl.com/4xj9uxc8

1 Judge eternal, throned in splendor,
Lord of lords and King of kings,
with thy living fire of judgment
purge this land 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 clangor
cries aloud for sin to cease;
and the homesteads and the woodlands
plead in silence for their peace.

3 Crown, O God, thine own endeavor;
cleave our darkness with thy sword;
feed all those who do not know thee
with the richness of thy word;
cleanse the body of this nation
through the glory of the Lord.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.

HYMN: Marty Haugen ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/2evnnc7n

Refrain:
Eye has not seen, ear has not heard
what God has ready for those who love him;
Spirit of love, come, give us the mind of Jesus,
teach us the wisdom of God.

1 When pain and sorrow weigh us down,
be near to us, O Lord;
forgive the weakness of our faith, 
and bear us up within your peaceful word. [Refrain]

2 Our lives are but a single breath,
we flower and we fade,
yet all our days are in your hands,
so we return in love what love has made. [Refrain]

3 To those who see with eyes of faith,
the Lord is ever near,
reflected in the faces of all the poor
and lowly of the world. [Refrain]

4 We sing a myst’ry from the past
in halls where saints have trod,
yet ever new the music rings
to Jesus, Living Song of God. [Refrain]

Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus continued, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

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 God,
your power was revealed
when you raised Christ from the dead
and seated him at your right hand.
Grant that we may always give you thanks
for your immeasurable love
and show that gratitude in loving service
to all our brothers and sisters
through Jesus Christ. 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

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.