Oremus for Wednesday, May 19, 2021

We have come to know and to believe
in the love that God has for us. 1 John 4

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: St John of Damascus; trans. John Mason Neale
Tune: Gaudeamus pariter https://tinyurl.com/6yv5p9pe

1 Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
of triumphant gladness!
God hath brought forth Israel
into joy from sadness,
loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
led them with unmoistened foot
through the Red Sea waters.

2 ’Tis the spring of souls today:
Christ hath burst his prison,
and from three days’ sleep in death
as a sun hath risen.
Now rejoice, Jerusalem,
and with true affection
welcome in unwearied strains
Jesus’ resurrection.

3 Neither shall the gates of death,
nor the tomb’s dark portal,
nor the watchers, nor the seal
hold thee as a mortal.
But arisen ’midst thy friends
thou didst stand, bestowing
thy true peace, which evermore
passes human knowing.

PSALMS

Psalm 95 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yx5ywz8t)
1  O come, let us sing unto the Lord *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3  For the Lord is a great God *
and a great King above all gods.
4  In his hand are all the corners of the earth *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5  The sea is his, and he made it *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6  O come, let us worship and fall down *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7  For he is the Lord our God *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8  To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts *
as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
9  When your fathers tempted me *
proved me, and saw my works.
10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said *
It is a people that do err in their hearts,
for they have not known my ways;
11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath *
that they should not enter into my rest.
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 95 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-95.mp3)
1 Come, let us sing to the LORD; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts,
as your forebears did in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that day at Massah,
when they tempted me.
9 They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years long I detested that generation and said, *
“This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”
11 So I swore in my wrath, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Psalm 96 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/u9ylore)
1  O sing unto the Lord a new song *
sing unto the Lord, all the whole earth.
2  Sing unto the Lord, and praise his Name *
be telling of his salvation from day to day.
3  Declare his honour unto the heathen *
and his wonders unto all people.
4  For the Lord is great, and cannot worthily be praised *
he is more to be feared than all gods.
5  As for all the gods of the heathen, they are but idols *
but it is the Lord that made the heavens.
6  Glory and worship are before him *
power and honour are in his sanctuary.
7  Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people *
ascribe unto the Lord worship and power.
8  Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his Name *
bring presents, and come into his courts.
9  O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness *
let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
10  Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King *
and that it is he who hath made the round world
so fast that it cannot be moved;
and how that he shall judge the people righteously.
11  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad *
let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is.
12  Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it *
then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord.
13  For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth *
and with righteousness to judge the world,
and the people with his truth.
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 96 (LSB Tone K: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-96-LSB.mp3)
1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;*
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,*
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;*
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,*
but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,*
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;*
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;*
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;*
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;*
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD, for he comes,*
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,*
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
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.

Psalm 97 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/qm79zby)
1  The Lord is King, the earth may be glad thereof *
yea, the multitude of the isles may be glad thereof.
2  Clouds and darkness are round about him *
righteousness and judgement are the habitation of his seat.
3  There shall go a fire before him *
and burn up his enemies on every side.
4  His lightnings gave shine unto the world *
the earth saw it, and was afraid.
5  The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord *
at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6  The heavens have declared his righteousness *
and all the people have seen his glory.
7  Confounded be all they that worship carved images,
and that delight in vain gods *
worship him, all ye gods.
8  Sion heard of it, and rejoiced *
and the daughters of Judah were glad, because of thy judgements, O Lord.
9  For thou, Lord, art higher than all that are in the earth *
thou art exalted far above all gods.
10  O ye that love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing which is evil *
the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints;
he shall deliver them from the hand of the ungodly.
11  There is sprung up a light for the righteous *
and joyful gladness for such as are true-hearted.
12  Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous *
and give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness.
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 97 (LSB Tone H: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-97-LSB.mp3)
1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;*
let the many coast lands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;*
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him*
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;*
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,*
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,*
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;*
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,*
because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;*
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 O you who love the LORD, hate evil!*
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,*
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,*
and give thanks to his holy name!
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.

PRAYER

O God,
you clothe the sky with light, and ocean depths with darkness.
You work your mighty wonders among us.
Claim us for your purposes,
that we may be among those who see your glory and give you praise,
for you live and reign, now and forever. Amen.^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Ezra 9:5-15

At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, and said,

‘O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case. But now for a brief moment favour has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

‘And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, “The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.” After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practise these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor? O Lord, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.’

HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: Jerusalem (Grosvenor)

1. What shall I do, my God to love,
My loving God to praise!
The length, and breadth, and height to prove
And depth of sovereign grace?

2. Thy sovereign grace to all extends,
Immense and unconfined;
From age to age it never ends,
It reaches all mankind.

3. Throughout the world its breadth is known,
Wide as infinity,
So wide it never passed by one;
Or it had passed by me.

4. My trespass was grown up to Heaven;
But far above the skies,
In Christ abundantly forgiven,
I see Thy mercies rise!

5. The depth of all-redeeming love,
What angel-tongue can tell?
O may I to the utmost prove
The gift unspeakable!

6. Come quickly, then, my Lord, and take
Possession of Thine own;
My longing heart vouchsafe to make
Thine everlasting throne.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

HYMN: Marty Haugen ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/ttfb8u2m

Refrain:
We are many parts, we are all one body,
and the gifts we have we are given to share.
May the Spirit of love make us one indeed;
one, the love that we share,
one, our hope in despair,
one, the cross that we bear.

1 God of all, we look to you,
we would be your servants true,
let us be your love to all the world. [Refrain]

2 So my pain is pain for you,
in your joy is my joy, too;
all is brought together in the Lord. [Refrain]

3 All you seekers, great and small,
seek the greatest gift of all;
if you love, then you will know the Lord. [Refrain]

Reading: John 16:16-24

‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.’

CANTICLE Luke 1
(Setting: Wen Reagan https://tinyurl.com/3ptbr6t4)

1 You have come, Lord, come to redeem
You have torn injustice at the seam
You have saved us from our enemies
You’ve remembered us in your mercy

Chorus
He has saved with mighty arm
He has scattered the proud
He has thrown down the strong
Exalted the lowly
He has fed the starving poor
Emptied the rich
In remembrance of his mercy, he has come

2 Your dayspring has broke in from on high
You give light to those who suffer in night
You blaze bright on the shadow of death
and you guide our feet into the way of peace (Chorus)

Bridge
The blind can see, the broken now can walk
The dirty clean, the deaf now can hear
The dead are raised, the poor now have good news
The Son of God has come to save us from our enemy

3 Every valley you will surely fill
and every mountain you will bring it low
and all the crooked things you will make straight
Your salvation for all flesh to see

THE PRAYERS ^WS2

Spirit of fire,
who came as a rushing wind breathing life and hope
into dead bones and cold hearts,
we praise you for the comfort and guidance
you have given the church throughout the ages:
for your presence in creation, especially . . .
for changing hearts and guiding decisions as evidenced in . . .
for your work through the church universal . . .
for your presence in our worship . . .
for your sanctifying work in our lives . . .

Holy Spirit, we pray for your comfort and guidance
as we care for creation . . .
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 in the name of the Father and the Son,
who live and reign together with you,
one God forever and ever. 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.

God of power,
may the boldness of your Spirit transform us,
may the gentleness of your Spirit lead us,
may the gifts of your Spirit
be our goal and our strength,
now and always. 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.

^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 version of Psalm 95 is from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and is sung by Ryland Angel. Psalms 96 and 97 are from Lutheran Service Book, Concordia Publishing House, and are from the Next to the Word of God YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVRYL-MRebncw584Ql2xfg.

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 © 2021 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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