Oremus for Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Antony
Born in about the year 251, Antony heard the gospel message, “If you would be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” He was twenty years old and rich, following the death of his parents, but he did as the gospel instructed and went to live in the desert, living an austere life of manual work, charity and prayer. His many spiritual struggles left him both wise and sensible and he became a spiritual guide for many who flocked to him. His simple rule of personal discipline and prayer was taken up and spread throughout Christendom. He died peacefully in the desert in the year 356, asking that he be buried secretly, so that his person might be hidden in death as in life. ^EH

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/3mmbr9nr

The Lord became my protector.
He brought me out to a place of freedom;
he saved me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18

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: David Haas ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/954x5fej

1 I will come to you in the silence,
I will lift you from all your fear.
You will hear my voice,
I claim you as my choice,
be still and know I am here.

2 I am hope for all who are hopeless,
I am eyes for all who long to see.
In the shadows of the night,
I will be your light,
come and rest in me.

Refrain:
Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me,
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are mine.

3 I am strength for all the despairing,
healing for the ones who dwell in shame.
All the blind will see,
the lame will all run free,
and all will know my name. [Refrain]

4 I am the Word that leads all to freedom,
I am the peace the world cannot give.
I will call your name,
embracing all your pain.
Stand up, now walk, and live! [Refrain]

PSALMS

Psalm 86 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/vmvol2r)
1  Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me *
 for I am poor, and in misery.
2  Preserve thou my soul, for I am holy *
 my God, save thy servant that putteth his trust in thee.
3  Be merciful unto me, O Lord *
 for I will call daily upon thee.
4  Comfort the soul of thy servant *
 for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5  For thou, Lord, art good and gracious *
 and of great mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6  Give ear, Lord, unto my prayer *
 and ponder the voice of my humble desires.
7  In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee *
 for thou hearest me.
8  Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord *
 there is not one that can do as thou doest.
9  All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship thee, O Lord *
 and shall glorify thy Name.
10  For thou art great, and doest wondrous things *
 thou art God alone.
11  Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth *
 O knit my heart unto thee, that I may fear thy Name.
12  I will thank thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart *
 and will praise thy Name for evermore.
13  For great is thy mercy toward me *
 and thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell.
14  O God, the proud are risen against me *
 and the congregations of naughty men
have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before their eyes.
15  But thou, O Lord God, art full of compassion and mercy *
 long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and truth.
16  O turn thee then unto me, and have mercy upon me *
 give thy strength unto thy servant, and help the son of thine handmaid.
17  Shew some token upon me for good,
that they who hate me may see it, and be ashamed *
 because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,*
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 87 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/sjg229z)
1  Her foundations are upon the holy hills *
 the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
2  Very excellent things are spoken of thee *
 thou city of God.
3  I will think upon Rahab and Babylon *
 with them that know me.
4  Behold ye the Philistines also *
 and they of Tyre, with the Morians; lo, there was he born.
5  And of Sion it shall be reported that he was born in her *
 and the most High shall stablish her.
6  The Lord shall rehearse it when he writeth up the people *
 that he was born there.
7  The singers also and trumpeters shall he rehearse *
 All my fresh springs shall be in thee.
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 88 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/tl4xkf)
1  O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee *
 O let my prayer enter into thy presence, incline thine ear unto my calling.
2  For my soul is full of trouble *
 and my life draweth nigh unto hell.
3  I am counted as one of them that go down into the pit *
 and I have been even as a man that hath no strength.
4  Free among the dead, like unto them that are wounded, and lie in the grave *
 who are out of remembrance, and are cut away from thy hand.
5  Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit *
 in a place of darkness, and in the deep.
6  Thine indignation lieth hard upon me *
 and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms.
7  Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me *
 and made me to be abhorred of them.
8  I am so fast in prison *
 that I cannot get forth.
9  My sight faileth for very trouble *
 Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.
10  Dost thou shew wonders among the dead *
 or shall the dead rise up again, and praise thee?
11  Shall thy loving-kindness be shewed in the grave *
 or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12  Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark *
 and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten?
13  Unto thee have I cried, O Lord *
 and early shall my prayer come before thee.
14  Lord, why abhorrest thou my soul *
 and hidest thou thy face from me?
15  I am in misery, and like unto him that is at the point to die *
 even from my youth up thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind.
16  Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me *
 and the fear of thee hath undone me.
17  They came round about me daily like water *
 and compassed me together on every side.
18  My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me *
 and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight.
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 86 (LSB Tone B: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-86-LSB.mp3)
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,*
 for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;*
 save your servant, who trusts in you— you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,*
 for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,*
 for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,*
 abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;*
 listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,*
 for you answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,*
 nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made
shall come and worship before you, O Lord,*
 and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;*
 you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;*
 unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,*
 and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;*
 you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seek my life,*
 and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,*
 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;*
 give your strength to your servant,
 and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,*
 that those who hate me may see
 and be put to shame because you, LORD,
 have helped me and comforted me.
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 87 (Coptic Chant: https://tinyurl.com/4afp2bpa)
His foundations are in the holy mountains.
The Lord loves the gates of Zion,
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God.
I shall make mention of Raab and Babylon,
those who know me: behold the foreigners,
and Tyre, and the people of Ethiopia:
these were there.
“My mother Zion,” a man will say;
and a man was living in her:
and the Most High himself has founded her forever.
The Lord shall tell it in the writings of peoples and princes,
these who were in her.
The dwelling of all who rejoice is within you. ALLELUIA.

Psalm 88 (Karl Kohlhase: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-88-KH.mp3)
O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry to you day and night
O let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry
My soul’s had its fill of trouble,
my life has reached Sheol
Like those who sink in a pit;
like men without any strength

O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry out to you day and night

Detached among the dead,
like slain ones lain in the grave
Like those remembered no more,
like those cut off from your hand
You placed me in the lowest pit,
in darkness down in the depths
Your anger rested upon me,
assailing me with all your waves.

O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry out to you day and night

Those known to me you made far off;
made like a loathsome thing
Restrained, I cannot go out;
my eye wears out from affliction
I call out to you every day, O LORD;
I stretch out my hands to you
For the dead will you work your wonders?
Will they rise to praise you? Selah

O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry out to you day and night

Will your love be told in the grave,
your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Will your wonders be known in the darkness?
Your right in the land of forgetfulness?
O LORD, to you I cry out for help,
in the morning my prayer comes to you
O LORD, why do you spurn my soul?
Why hide your face from me?

O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry out to you day and night

Impoverished and dying from childhood;
bearing dread, I am overwhelmed
Your anger has passed over me;
your terrors demolishing me
Surrounding like water all through the day;
completely encompassing me
Removing both loved one and friend,
until all I know is darkness

O LORD, God of salvation,
I cry out to you day and night

PRAYER

Eternal God,
in every time and place and circumstance your people call on you,
rejoicing in your love and cherishing your truth.
Hear the prayers of our hearts
that we may be protected from sin
and delivered from evil;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Haggai 1:15b-2:9

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet: Say to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and to the chief priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and to the rest of the people:

Reading: Hebrews 5:1-14

Every high priest is taken from the people and put in charge of things that relate to God for their sake, in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The high priest is able to deal gently with the ignorant and those who are misled since he himself is prone to weakness. Because of his weakness, he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the people. No one takes this honor for themselves but takes it only when they are called by God, just like Aaron.

In the same way Christ also didn’t promote himself to become high priest. Instead, it was the one who said to him,

as he also says in another place,

During his days on earth, Christ offered prayers and requests with loud cries and tears as his sacrifices to the one who was able to save him from death. He was heard because of his godly devotion. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. After he had been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him. He was appointed by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

We have a lot to say about this topic, and it’s difficult to explain, because you have been lazy and you haven’t been listening. Although you should have been teachers by now, you need someone to teach you an introduction to the basics about God’s message. You have come to the place where you need milk instead of solid food. Everyone who lives on milk is not used to the word of righteousness, because they are babies. But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.

Reading: John 4:1-30

Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples and baptizing more than John (although Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, not Jesus himself). Therefore, he left Judea and went back to Galilee.

Jesus had to go through Samaria. He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.

The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)

Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”

Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.”

The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.”

“You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered. “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.”

The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.”

Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.”

The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.”

Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.”

Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman put down her water jar and went into the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” They left the city and were on their way to see Jesus.

CANTICLE Luke 1:68-79
(Steve Angrisano: https://tinyurl.com/y7w6y7qh)

Through his holy prophets,
he promised from of old
to save us from who would harm us.
His mercy he would show,
rememb’ring his holy word.
Refrain:
Blessed be the Lord,
for he has raised up for us a mighty savior.
Our God has set us free,
fulfilling the promise to save his people.

You, my child,
have been chosen a prophet of the Lord,
proclaiming his forgiveness,
salvation to make known,
preparing the way of God. Refrain

In his tender compassion,
the dawn now breaks on high
to shine on those in the darkness:
a light unto our feet
into the way of peace. Refrain

THE PRAYERS ^BCW

We rejoice in your generous goodness, O God, and celebrate your lavish gifts to
us this day, for you have shown your love in giving Jesus Christ for the salvation
of the world. Especially we give thanks for
the labors of those who have served us today . . .
friends with whom we have shared . . .
those whom we love and have loved us . . .
opportunities for our work to help others . . .
all beauty that delights us. . . .

Gracious God, we know you are close to all in need, and by our prayers for others
we come closer to you. We are bold to claim for others your promises of new
life in Jesus Christ, as we claim them for ourselves. Especially we pray for
those in dangerous occupations . . .
physicians and nurses . . .
those who are ill or confined to nursing homes . . .
those who mourn . . .
the Roman Catholic Church. . . .

(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.

Merciful God,
the strength of all who commit themselves to you,
you called Antony to renounce the world
and to serve you in the solitude of the desert;
give us grace to follow the way of perfection,
that we may count all things as loss
in the joy of knowing Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen. ^FATS

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.

^DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.

^EH Exciting Holiness, Ed. Brother Tristram SSF © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997

^FATS For All the Saints, © The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2014

The main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible.

The traditional-language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern versions of Psalm 86 is the version in Lutheran Service Book and is from the Next to the Word of God YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVRYL-MRebncw584Ql2xfg. Psalm 87 is the version sung in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Psalm 88 is 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 © 2023 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.