Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/jfctmt5j
See, I have God for my help.
The Lord sustains my soul.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart,
and praise your name, O Lord, for it is good. Psalm 54
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/ycn4djk5
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
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.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!
HYMN: Norman O Forness ©
Tune: St Ethelwald https://tinyurl.com/rzta7hjm
1 Rise up, O saints of God!
From vain ambitions turn;
Christ rose triumphant that your hearts
with nobler zeal might burn.
2 Speak out, O saints of God!
Despair engulfs earth’s frame;
as heirs of God’s baptismal grace,
his word of hope proclaim.
3 Rise up, O saints of God!
His kingdom’s task embrace;
redress sin’s cruel consequence;
give justice larger place.
4 Give heed, O saints of God!
Creation cries in pain;
stretch forth your hand of healing now,
with love the weak sustain.
5 Commit your hearts to seek
the paths which Christ has trod;
and quickened by the Spirit’s power,
rise up, O saints of God!
PSALMS
Psalm 106 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yd2cn3x8)
1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious *
and his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Who can express the noble acts of the Lord *
or shew forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they that alway keep judgement *
and do righteousness.
4 Remember me, O Lord, according to the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people *
O visit me with thy salvation;
5 That I may see the felicity of thy chosen *
and rejoice in the gladness of thy people,
and give thanks with thine inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers *
we have done amiss, and dealt wickedly.
7 Our fathers regarded not thy wonders in Egypt,
neither kept they thy great goodness in remembrance *
but were disobedient at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8 Nevertheless, he helped them for his Name’s sake *
that he might make his power to be known.
9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up *
so he led them through the deep, as through a wilderness.
10 And he saved them from the adversary’s hand *
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
11 As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them *
there was not one of them left.
12 Then believed they his words *
and sang praise unto him.
13 But within a while they forgat his works *
and would not abide his counsel.
14 But lust came upon them in the wilderness *
and they tempted God in the desert.
15 And he gave them their desire *
and sent leanness withal into their soul.
16 They angered Moses also in the tents *
and Aaron the saint of the Lord.
17 So the earth opened, and swallowed up Dathan *
and covered the congregation of Abiram.
18 And the fire was kindled in their company *
the flame burnt up the ungodly.
19 They made a calf in Horeb *
and worshipped the molten image.
20 Thus they turned their glory *
into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay.
21 And they forgat God their Saviour *
who had done so great things in Egypt;
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham *
and fearful things by the Red sea.
23 So he said, he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the gap *
to turn away his wrathful indignation, lest he should destroy them.
24 Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant land *
and gave no credence unto his word;
25 But murmured in their tents *
and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
26 Then lift he up his hand against them *
to overthrow them in the wilderness;
27 To cast out their seed among the nations *
and to scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves unto Baalpeor *
and ate the offerings of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their own inventions *
and the plague was great among them.
30 Then stood up Phinees and prayed *
and so the plague ceased.
31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness *
among all posterities for evermore.
32 They angered him also at the waters of strife *
so that he punished Moses for their sakes;
33 Because they provoked his spirit *
so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
34 Neither destroyed they the heathen *
as the Lord commanded them;
35 But were mingled among the heathen *
and learned their works.
36 Insomuch that they worshipped their idols,
which turned to their own decay *
yea, they offered their sons and their daughters unto devils;
37 And shed innocent blood,
even the blood of their sons and of their daughters *
whom they offered unto the idols of Canaan;
and the land was defiled with blood.
38 Thus were they stained with their own works *
and went a whoring with their own inventions.
39 Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people *
insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
40 And he gave them over into the hand of the heathen *
and they that hated them were lords over them.
41 Their enemies oppressed them *
and had them in subjection.
42 Many a time did he deliver them *
but they rebelled against him with their own inventions,
and were brought down in their wickedness.
43 Nevertheless, when he saw their adversity *
he heard their complaint.
44 He thought upon his covenant, and pitied them,
according unto the multitude of his mercies *
yea, he made all those that led them away captive to pity them.
45 Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen *
that we may give thanks unto thy holy Name, and make our boast of thy praise.
46 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and world without end *
and let all the people say, Amen.
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 106 (Kohlhase: https://tinyurl.com/2nshc92b)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love is everlasting.
Who’ll tell of the power of the LORD,
or show forth all of his praise?
How blessed are those who keep justice,
and righteousness at all times!
Remember me, LORD, in your favor;
and visit me with your salvation.
Let me see your chosen ones prosper,
and glory with your inheritance.
We’ve erred like our fathers, committing sin;
so poorly we have behaved.
In Egypt they misunderstood your signs;
your graces they scorned at the sea.
But for your name’s sake you saved them,
to make your power known.
Rebuking the Red Sea he dried it up,
led through the deep as a wilderness.
Saved them from the hand of hostile ones,
redeemed from the hand of their foe.
The waters returned to drown their foes;
not one among them was left.
Therefore they trusted his words;
and they sang out his praise.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
However, they quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel,
their cravings were strong in the wilderness,
they tested their God in the desert.
He gave to them as they desired,
along with a wasting disease.
The camp envied Moses and Aaron,
the holy ones of the LORD.
Earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
engulfing the clan of Abiram.
A fire broke out in their company;
the flame consumed the wicked.
They then made a calf in Horeb,
and worshiped a molten image.
So they exchanged their glory,
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
Forgetting their God and Savior,
who did great things in Egypt;
his signs in the land of Ham,
and marvels at the Red Sea.
He said that he would destroy them,
had Moses not stood in the gap,
to turn away his anger, from destroying them.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not trust in his word,
but grumbled there within their tents,
not heeding the voice of the LORD.
Therefore he swore unto them,
he’d cast them down in the desert,
and cast their seed among nations,
to scatter them throughout the lands.
They joined themselves to Baal-peor,
and ate what was offered the dead.
Provoking his anger by their deeds,
a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
thereby the plague was stopped.
Reckoned to him as righteousness,
to all generations forever.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
At Meribah’s waters they angered him,
thus making it hard for Moses;
for when they rejected the Spirit,
he rashly spoke with his lips.
They did not destroy the nations,
as ordered by the LORD,
but with the nations they mingled,
and learned of all their ways.
They started to serve their idols,
becoming a snare unto them.
For even their sons they sacrificed,
and gave their daughters to demons.
They shed the innocent blood,
of their daughters and of their sons;
gave them to the idols of Canaan.
polluting the land with their blood.
Becoming unclean in their dealings,
in deed they played the harlot.
The LORD’s anger burned at his people,
detesting his own inheritance.
He gave them into the nations’ hands,
those hating them became their rulers.
Their enemies also oppressed them,
subduing them under their power.
He often would save and counsel them;
rebellious they sank in their sin;
but he still considered their troubles,
whenever he heard their cry;
for them he remembered his covenant,
he turned from the depths of his love.
He made them as objects of pity,
in the presence of their captors.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Save us, O LORD our God,
regather us from all the nations;
to give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
forever and forever;
let the people say, “Amen.”
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
PRAYER
Merciful God,
remembering your covenant,
you graciously pardoned those who rebelled against you.
Grant that, where sin abounds,
grace may abound more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
Reading: Job 28:12-28
Job reflected, ‘But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Mortals do not know the way to it,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me”,
and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
The chrysolite of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
‘Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say,
“We have heard a rumour of it with our ears.”
‘God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he gave to the wind its weight,
and apportioned out the waters by measure;
when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt;
then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
And he said to humankind,
“Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.” ’
HYMN: Psalm 49; para. Martin Leckebusch ©
Tune: Dunedin https://tinyurl.com/vmuatu79
1 Come, one and all, from near and far,
to share the insights I have found:
a heart which has been taught by faith
informs the wisdom I expound.
2 Some flaunt their gold, some trust its power–
but what they cherish will decay;
and still the ransom for a soul
remains a price too great to pay.
3 Beyond this age of shame and sham
we glimpse a better destiny:
the Lord will lift us free from death
to walk with him eternally.
4 Why crave renown or opulence?
They fade, those things we now possess;
our hope, our life are in the Lord,
the God we honor and confess.
Reading: James 2:1-9
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
HYMN: Graham Kendrick ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/6ysjxema
1 All I once held dear,
built my life upon,
all this world reveres,
and wars to own,
all I once thought gain
I have counted loss;
spent and worthless now,
compared to this.
Refrain:
Knowing you, Jesus,
knowing you,
there is no greater thing.
You’re my all,
your the best,
you’re my joy,
my righteousness,
and I love you, Lord.
2 Now my heart’s desire
is to know you more,
to be found in you
and known as yours.
To possess by faith
what I could not earn,
all-surpassing gift
of righteousness. [Refrain]
3 Oh, to know the power
of your risen life,
and to know you
in your sufferings.
To become like you
in your death, my Lord,
so with you to live
and never die. [Refrain]
Reading: Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
CANTICLE Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
(Setting in Lutheran Service Book: https://tinyurl.com/ybb7ajjj)
Refrain:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;
my soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
1. For he has regarded
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from this day
all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things to me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation. Refrain
2. He has shown strength with his arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
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. Refrain
THE PRAYERS BCW
Loving God, as the rising sun chases away the night, so you have scattered the
power of death in the rising of Jesus Christ, and you bring us all blessings in him.
Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church . . .
those with whom we work or share common concerns . . .
the diversity of your children . . .
indications of your love at work in the world . . .
those who work for reconciliation. . . .
Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would
destroy or harm, and you brighten the lives of all who need you.
Especially we pray for
families suffering separation . . .
people different from ourselves . . .
those isolated by sickness or sorrow . . .
the victims of violence or warfare . . .
the church in the Pacific region. . . .
(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.
Lord of abundance,
you demand our life
entire and whole:
lead us out
from prisons of greed
to a place of riches
uncontained and always new;
through Jesus Christ, our common wealth. Amen. PIC
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.
ELW The Lord’s Prayer is from Setting Five in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
PIC Prayers for An Inclusive Church. Steven Shakespeare © 2008 Canterbury Press.
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 reading from John is from Common English Bible © 2012.
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 © 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.
Oremus 