Oremus for Thursday, June 23, 2022

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/yc5u5mp9

The merciful love of the Lord fills the earth;
by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia. Psalm 33

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: George Matheson
Tune: St Margaret https://tinyurl.com/45smpz4p

1 O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

2 O Light that follows all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee.
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.

3 O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee.
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain,
that morn shall tearless be.

4 O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee.
I lay in dust, life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red,
life that shall endless be.

PSALMS

Psalm 114 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/tbxne5c)
1  When Israel came out of Egypt *
 and the house of Jacob from among the strange people,
2  Judah was his sanctuary *
 and Israel his dominion.
3  The sea saw that, and fled *
 Jordan was driven back.
4  The mountains skipped like rams *
 and the little hills like young sheep.
5  What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest *
 and thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
6  Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams *
 and ye little hills, like young sheep?
7  Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord *
 at the presence of the God of Jacob;
8  Who turned the hard rock into a standing water *
 and the flint-stone into a springing well.
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 115 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yaw43w93)
1  Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the praise *
 for thy loving mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
2  Wherefore shall the heathen say *
 Where is now their God?
3  As for our God, he is in heaven *
 he hath done whatsoever pleased him.
4  Their idols are silver and gold *
 even the work of men’s hands.
5  They have mouths, and speak not *
 eyes have they, and see not.
6  They have ears, and hear not *
 noses have they, and smell not.
7  They have hands, and handle not; feet have they, and walk not *
 neither speak they through their throat.
8  They that make them are like unto them *
 and so are all such as put their trust in them.
9  But thou, house of Israel, trust thou in the Lord *
 he is their succour and defence.
10  Ye house of Aaron, put your trust in the Lord *
 he is their helper and defender.
11  Ye that fear the Lord, put your trust in the Lord *
 he is their helper and defender.
12  The Lord hath been mindful of us, and he shall bless us *
 even he shall bless the house of Israel,
he shall bless the house of Aaron.
13  He shall bless them that fear the Lord *
 both small and great.
14  The Lord shall increase you more and more *
 you and your children.
15  Ye are the blessed of the Lord *
 who made heaven and earth.
16  All the whole heavens are the Lord’s *
 the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17  The dead praise not thee, O Lord *
 neither all they that go down into silence.
18  But we will praise the Lord *
 from this time forth for evermore. Praise the Lord.
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 114 (LSB Tone G: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-114-LSB.mp3)
1 When Israel went out from Egypt,*
 the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,*
 Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled;*
 Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,*
 the hills like lambs.
5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?*
 O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?*
 O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,*
 at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,*
 the flint into a spring of water.
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 115 (LSB Tone G: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-115-LSB.mp3)
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,*
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,*
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;*
he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,*
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;*
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;*
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;*
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them be-come like them;*
so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!*
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!*
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!*
He is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;*
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,*
both the small and the great.
14 May the LORD give you increase,*
you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,*
who made heaven and earth!
16 The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,*
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,*
nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD*
from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the 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.

PRAYER

Sovereign God,
you subdue the arrogant
and raise the humble;
you feed the hungry
and reveal the poverty of wealth.
Help us to praise your name in all times and places,
that we may be faithful servants
of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: 2 Kings 1:13-18

Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. So the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and entreated him, ‘O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.’ Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he set out and went down with him to the king, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.’

So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. His brother Jehoram succeeded him as king in the second year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

HYMN: Johann Jakob Schütz; trans. Frances Elizabeth Cox
Tune: Mit Freuden zart https://tinyurl.com/2p8uzr4t

1 Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled
and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.

2 The Lord is never far away,
but through all grief distressing,
an ever present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand,
God gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.

3 Thus all my toilsome way along,
I sing aloud thy praises,
that earth may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart,
both soul and body bear your part:
To God all praise and glory.

4 Let all who name Christ’s holy name
give God all praise and glory;
let all who own his power proclaim
aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false idol from its throne,
for Christ is Lord, and Christ alone:
To God all praise and glory.

Reading:  2 Corinthians 6:1-10

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,
‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
   and on a day of salvation I have helped you.’
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

HYMN: Fanny Crosby
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/7u5557js

1 Jesus is tenderly calling thee home-
Calling today, calling today;
Why from the sunshine of love wilt thou roam
Farther and farther away?

Refrain:
Calling today,
Calling today,
Jesus is calling,
Is tenderly calling today.

2 Jesus is calling the weary to rest-
Calling today, calling today;
Bring Him thy burden and thou shalt be blest-
He will not turn thee away. [Refrain]

3 Jesus is waiting; O come to Him now-
Waiting today, waiting today;
Come with thy sins, at His feet lowly bow-
Come, and no longer delay. [Refrain]

4 Jesus is pleading; O list to His voice-
Hear Him today, hear Him today;
They who believe on His name shall rejoice-
Quickly arise and away. [Refrain]

Reading: John 10:1-10 (CEB)

I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter into the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger but will run away because they don’t know the stranger’s voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this analogy didn’t understand what he was saying.

So Jesus spoke again, “I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and outlaws, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”

CANTICLE: Luke 1:68-79
(Consiglio: https://tinyurl.com/ya8y3kqs)

Ant. Blest be the Lord God of Israel; *
who has come to his people and set them free.

God has raiséd up a Savior strong and proud,
born of his servant David.
And through holy prophets God has promised from of old,
to save us from all our foes, from the hands of all who hate us. Ant.

God promised to show mercy to our ancestors
to remember the covenant.
This was the oath sworn to father Abraham,
to set us free from our enemies’ hands,
free to worship God without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. Ant.

You, little child, are the prophet of the Lord,
you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
To give the people knowledge of salvation
by forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high breaks upon us,
to shine on us who dwell in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet on the way of peace. Ant.

THE PRAYERS ^BCW

Give us your peace, O God, that we may rejoice in your goodness to us and to all
your children, and be thankful for your love revealed in Jesus Christ. Especially
we thank you for
people who reveal your truth and righteousness . . .
courage to be bold disciples . . .
those who show hospitality . . .
surprises that have blessed us . . .
the unity of the church of Jesus Christ. . . .

Give us your peace, O God, that we may be confident of your care for us and all
your children, as we remember the needs of others. Especially we pray for
friends and relatives who are far away . . .
neighbors in special need . . .
those who suffer hunger and thirst . . .
those who work at night while others sleep . . .
Episcopal and Methodist churches. . . .

Setting by Eric Wyse:²

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.

Life abundant,
God of grace,
you call us by name
to live without fear:
in peace may we resist
all who kill and despoil your people,
that their hearts might be turned
to the only source of life;
through Jesus Christ, the gateway. 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.

^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 the Common English Bible © 2011 Common English Bible.

The traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern language versions of Psalms 114 and 115 are in the version used in Lutheran Service Book: Pew Edition 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 © 2022 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.