Oremus for Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Crowd at Tiberias (Air views of Palestine. Aircrafts etc. of the Imperial Airways Ltd., on the Sea of Galilee and at Semakh. Flying boat awaited at Tiberias. Crowds expecting the first sea plane to alight on the Lake of Galilee), 1931

Antiphon 1

Ant. You gave us bread from heaven, O Lord,
having in it all that is delicious,
and the sweetness of every taste.
V. Give ear, my people, to my teaching; *
incline your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable *
and utter hidden lessons of the past. Wisdom 16; Psalm 78

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/mb6h9xfa

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
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.
Alleluia, alleluia!

HYMN: Omer Westendorf ©
Tune: Bicentennial https://tinyurl.com/2n5t6kpy

Refrain:
You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat;
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.

1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when you call your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. [Refrain]

2 With joyful lips we sing to you
Our praise and gratitude,
That you should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. [Refrain]

3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? [Refrain]

4 The myst’ry of your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. [Refrain]

5 You give yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in your name
In truth and charity. [Refrain]

PSALMS

Psalm 73 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/vztsodf)
1  Truly God is loving unto Israel *
 even unto such as are of a clean heart.
2  Nevertheless, my feet were almost gone *
 my treadings had well-nigh slipt.
3  And why? I was grieved at the wicked *
 I do also see the ungodly in such prosperity.
4  For they are in no peril of death *
 but are lusty and strong.
5  They come in no misfortune like other folk *
 neither are they plagued like other men.
6  And this is the cause that they are so holden with pride *
 and overwhelmed with cruelty.
7  Their eyes swell with fatness *
 and they do even what they lust.
8  They corrupt other, and speak of wicked blasphemy *
 their talking is against the most High.
9  For they stretch forth their mouth unto the heaven *
 and their tongue goeth through the world.
10  Therefore fall the people unto them *
 and thereout suck they no small advantage.
11  Tush, say they, how should God perceive it *
 is there knowledge in the most High?
12  Lo, these are the ungodly, these prosper in the world,
and these have riches in possession *
 and I said, Then have I cleansed my heart in vain,
and washed mine hands in innocency.
13  All the day long have I been punished *
 and chastened every morning.
14  Yea, and I had almost said even as they *
 but lo, then I should have condemned the generation of thy children.
15  Then thought I to understand this *
 but it was too hard for me,
16  Until I went into the sanctuary of God *
 then understood I the end of these men;
17  Namely, how thou dost set them in slippery places *
 and castest them down, and destroyest them.
18  O how suddenly do they consume *
 perish, and come to a fearful end!
19  Yea, even like as a dream when one awaketh *
 so shalt thou make their image to vanish out of the city.
20  Thus my heart was grieved *
 and it went even through my reins.
21  So foolish was I, and ignorant *
 even as it were a beast before thee.
22  Nevertheless, I am alway by thee *
 for thou hast holden me by my right hand.
23  Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel *
 and after that receive me with glory.
24  Whom have I in heaven but thee *
 and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee.
25  My flesh and my heart faileth *
 but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
26  For lo, they that forsake thee shall perish *
 thou hast destroyed all them that commit fornication against thee.
27  But it is good for me to hold me fast by God, to put my trust in the Lord God *
 and to speak of all thy works in the gates of the daughter of Sion.
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 73 (Karl Kohlhase: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-73-KH.mp3)
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart!
But my feet came near to stumbling;
my steps had almost slipped.
I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the wicked prosper
In their death there are no pains,
and their bellies all are full.

They’re not burdened like the people,
nor struck like common men.
So pride becomes their necklace,
and violence is their garment.
Their eye is set on fatness,
and the fantasies of their heart.
They mock and threaten with cruelty;
and they speak as if on high.

But whom have I in heaven but you?
On earth I long for nothing else but you.
Though my heart and flesh may fail,
God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

They set their mouth in heaven,
their tongue parades on the earth.
So the people keep returning to drink their waters in full.
They are saying, “What does God know?
Is knowledge with the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked,
at ease and gaining wealth.

In vain I kept my heart pure,
in innocence washed my hands;
I’m stricken all day long
and chastened every morning.
If I said, “I’ll speak in this way,”
I’d betray your generations.
When I pondered to understand this,
it was troublesome in my sight

But whom have I in heaven but you?
On earth I long for nothing else but you.
Though my heart and flesh may fail,
God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

When I came into God’s sanctuary;
then I perceived their end.
you set them in smooth places,
then cast them down to slavery.
In a moment they are destroyed,
swept away by sudden terror!
Like a dream when awakened, Lord,
when aroused despise their form.

When my heart was thus embittered
I inwardly was pierced,
I was ignorant and senseless,
before you like a beast.
Yet I am always with you;
take hold of my right hand.
you will guide me with your counsel,
then will take me into glory.

For whom have I in heaven but you?
On earth I long for nothing else but you.
Though my heart and flesh may fail,
God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

See, how the distant perish,
the unfaithful are destroyed;
but the nearness of God is my good
The Lord GOD is my refuge,
so I will tell of your works.

Psalm 74 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/r9v5c9y)
1  O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long *
 why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture?
2  O think upon thy congregation *
 whom thou hast purchased, and redeemed of old.
3  Think upon the tribe of thine inheritance *
 and mount Sion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
4  Lift up thy feet, that thou mayest utterly destroy every enemy *
 which hath done evil in thy sanctuary.
5  Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy congregations *
 and set up their banners for tokens.
6  He that hewed timber afore out of the thick trees *
 was known to bring it to an excellent work.
7  But now they break down all the carved work thereof *
 with axes and hammers.
8  They have set fire upon thy holy places *
 and have defiled the dwelling-place of thy Name, even unto the ground.
9  Yea, they said in their hearts, Let us make havock of them altogether *
 thus have they burnt up all the houses of God in the land.
10  We see not our tokens, there is not one prophet more *
 no, not one is there among us, that understandeth any more.
11  O God, how long shall the adversary do this dishonour *
 how long shall the enemy blaspheme thy Name, for ever?
12  Why withdrawest thou thy hand *
 why pluckest thou not thy right hand out of thy bosom
to consume the enemy?
13  For God is my King of old *
 the help that is done upon earth he doeth it himself.
14  Thou didst divide the sea through thy power *
 thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
15  Thou smotest the heads of Leviathan in pieces *
 and gavest him to be meat for the people in the wilderness.
16  Thou broughtest out fountains and waters out of the hard rocks *
 thou driedst up mighty waters.
17  The day is thine, and the night is thine *
 thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
18  Thou hast set all the borders of the earth *
 thou hast made summer and winter.
19  Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy hath rebuked *
 and how the foolish people hath blasphemed thy Name.
20  O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the enemies *
 and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever.
21  Look upon the covenant *
 for all the earth is full of darkness, and cruel habitations.
22  O let not the simple go away ashamed *
 but let the poor and needy give praise unto thy Name.
23  Arise, O God, maintain thine own cause *
 remember how the foolish man blasphemeth thee daily.
24  Forget not the voice of thine enemies *
 the presumption of them that hate thee increaseth ever more and more.
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 74 (Karl Kohlhase: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-74-KH.mp3)
O God, have you rejected us forever?
Will your anger burn against the sheep you pasture?
Remember your assembly, which of old you pledged,
you redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance;

In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

And toward these everlasting ruins now turn your feet;
the foe has broken down the sanctuary.
your adversaries roared within your meeting place;
They set up their own signs and banners of disgrace.

In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

See how an axe was lifted in a glade of trees.
Their hatchets and their hammers smash its artistry.
Unto the ground how they have burned your Holy Place;
Defiled the habitation of your glorious name.

In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

They said in their heart, “Let us utterly subdue.”
They burned all God’s meeting places down.
We do not see our signs; there’s no prophet anymore,
not even one among us knows how long.

How long, O God, how long, will the enemy revile,
Will the foe forever ridicule your name?
Why now withdraw your hand, even your right hand?
From within your bosom, strike them down!

Yet God has been my king since when it all began,
performing all His saving works throughout the land.
For by your strength the great sea was divided;
and there within the waters broke the dragon’s heads.

In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
In this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

Yes, of Leviathan you trampled on his heads;
gave him as food for people in the wilderness.
you opened up for them the fountains and the springs;
you shriveled up the strong and ever-flowing streams.

For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

Yours is the day, yours also is the night time;
you prepare the moonlight and the sunshine.
You have set the boundaries of all the earth;
both the summer and the winter you bring forth.

For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy reviled,
and how your name the foolish ones despised.
Deliver not the soul of your dove to wild beasts;
and do not long forget your poor ones’ lives.

Look towards the covenant, for the darkness of the land
is full of habitations for the mean.
O let not the oppressed all turn back and be ashamed;
and let the poor and needy praise your name.

Arise, O God, and plead for your own righteous case;
remember how the foolish have reproached all day.
Do not forget the voice of all your enemies,
the noise of their revolt ascends continually.

For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
For this Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

PRAYER

God our strength,
you give honor to the pure in heart
and uphold all who trust in you.
Deliver us from chasing after this world’s illusions
that we may follow instead
the imperishable truth of your Word
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Isaiah 26:1-15

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
   he sets up victory
   like walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
   so that the righteous nation that keeps faith
   may enter in.
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—
   in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
   for in the Lord God
   you have an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
   the inhabitants of the height;
   the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
   casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
   the feet of the poor,
   the steps of the needy.

The way of the righteous is level;
   O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous.
In the path of your judgements,
   O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and your renown
   are the soul’s desire.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
   my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgements are in the earth,
   the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
If favour is shown to the wicked,
   they do not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness they deal perversely
   and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
   but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
   Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,
   for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.
O Lord our God,
   other lords besides you have ruled over us,
   but we acknowledge your name alone.
The dead do not live;
   shades do not rise—
because you have punished and destroyed them,
   and wiped out all memory of them.
But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
   you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
   you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

HYMN: Frances Ridley Havergal
Tune: Wye Valley https://tinyurl.com/vrsv7un7

1 Like a river glorious
is God’s perfect peace,
over all victorious
in its bright increase;
perfect, yet it floweth
fuller ev’ry day,
perfect, yet it groweth
deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah,
hearts are fully blest,
finding, as he promised,
perfect peace and rest.

2 Hidden in the hollow
of his blessed hand,
never foe can follow,
never traitor stand;
not a surge of worry,
not a shade of care,
not a blast of hurry,
touch the spirit there. [Refrain]

3 Ev’ry joy or trial
falleth from above,
traced upon our dial
by the Sun of Love.
We may trust him fully
all for us to do;
they who trust him wholly
find him wholly true. [Refrain]

Reading: 1 John 2:12-17

I am writing to you, little children,
   because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.
I am writing to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
   because you have conquered the evil one.
I write to you, children,
   because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
   because you are strong
   and the word of God abides in you,
     and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live for ever.

HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: Dunedin https://tinyurl.com/73jd3332

1 Give to our God immortal praise;
mercy and truth are all his ways:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.

2 Give to the Lord of lords renown,
the King of kings with glory crown:
his mercies ever shall endure
when lords and kings are known no more.

3 He sent his Son with power to save
from guilt and darkness and the grave:
wonders of grace to God belong,
repeat his mercies in your song.

4 Through this vain world he guides our feet,
and leads us to his heavenly seat:
his mercies ever shall endure
when this vain world shall be no more.

Reading: John 6:22-25

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ 

CANTICLE Revelation 15:3-4
(Setting: Peter La Grand https://tinyurl.com/wvxnqrj)

You alone are holy
You alone are holy
Great and marvelous are your deeds
For you alone are holy

Who will not fear you O Lord?
And bring glory to your name
Just and true are you ways
King of the ages

All nations will come and worship you
For you alone are holy

All your righteous ways have been seen
For you alone are holy 

THE PRAYERS WS2

God of life,
we rejoice in the resurrection of your Son,
his defeat over death, and his gift of new life.
We praise you for the reflections of that new life
in creation . . .
in nations and governments around the world . . .
in the ministry of the church universal . . .
in our community as it . . .
in the sacrifice of those who serve . . .
in our new life in Christ . . .

To you as the giver of new life and renewed hope
we bring our prayers
for creation and its care . . .
for the nations of the world . . .
for our nation and its leaders . . .
for this community and those who are in authority . . .
for the church universal as it works on your behalf . . .
for this local church in its ministry . . .
for persons with particular needs . . .
We pray all this in your name, the Lord and giver of life. Amen.

(Plainsong: https://tinyurl.com/ahnrtv59)ELW

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.

Gracious God,
you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your Word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that, believing in the One whom you have sent,
we may know him to be the true bread of heaven
and food of eternal life,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be glory and honor
forever and ever.  Amen. BCW

https://tinyurl.com/rkxkpmc
Go in peace, alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia!

Glory to God whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine:
Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church,
and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.    Ephesians 3:20,21


Donation to Support This Ministry

Since 1993, Oremus has been done on a volunteer basis. If you are able, please consider supporting this work at the PayPal link below. For software reasons, I’ve set the value at $10.00, but feel free to change it. Thank you.

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

RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.

WS2 The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd edition, © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources

ELW The Lord’s Prayer is from Setting Five in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

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 traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern language psalms are in the version sung by Karl Kohlhase http://www.k4communications.com/karl/index.html

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.

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