Antiphon1
Ant. My house will be called a house of prayer, says the Lord;
everyone who asks here, will receive,
and he who seeks will find,
and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
V. How lovely is your dwelling place, *
O Lord of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning *
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out *
to the living God. Matthew 21; Psalm 84
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: Suzanne Toolan ©
Tune:
1 I am the Bread of life.
You who come to me shall not hunger,
and who believe in me shall not thirst.
No one can come to me
unless the Father beckons.
Refrain:
And I will raise you up,
and I will raise you up,
and I will raise you up
on the last day.
2 The bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world,
and if you eat of this bread,
you shall live forever,
you shall live forever. [Refrain]
3 Unless you eat
of the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink of his blood,
and drink of his blood,
you shall not have life within you. [Refrain]
4 I am the resurrection,
I am the life.
If you believe in me,
even though you die,
you shall live forever. [Refrain]
5 Yes, Lord, I believe
that you are the Christ,
the Son of God,
who has come unto the world. [Refrain]
PSALMS
Psalm 93 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y7tg5urb)
1 The Lord is King, and hath put on glorious apparel *
the Lord hath put on his apparel, and girded himself with strength.
2 He hath made the round world so sure *
that it cannot be moved.
3 Ever since the world began hath thy seat been prepared *
thou art from everlasting.
4 The floods are risen, O Lord, the floods have lift up their voice *
the floods lift up their waves.
5 The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly *
but yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
6 Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure *
holiness becometh thine house for ever.
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 94 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y8otscow)
1 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth *
thou God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
2 Arise, thou Judge of the world *
and reward the proud after their deserving.
3 Lord, how long shall the ungodly *
how long shall the ungodly triumph?
4 How long shall all wicked doers speak so disdainfully *
and make such proud boasting?
5 They smite down thy people, O Lord *
and trouble thine heritage.
6 They murder the widow, and the stranger *
and put the fatherless to death.
7 And yet they say, Tush, the Lord shall not see *
neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
8 Take heed, ye unwise among the people *
O ye fools, when will ye understand?
9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear *
or he that made the eye, shall he not see?
10 Or he that nurtureth the heathen *
it is he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he punish?
11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man *
that they are but vain.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord *
and teachest him in thy law;
13 That thou mayest give him patience in time of adversity *
until the pit be digged up for the ungodly.
14 For the Lord will not fail his people *
neither will he forsake his inheritance;
15 Until righteousness turn again unto judgement *
all such as are true in heart shall follow it.
16 Who will rise up with me against the wicked *
or who will take my part against the evil-doers?
17 If the Lord had not helped me *
it had not failed but my soul had been put to silence.
18 But when I said, My foot hath slipt *
thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
19 In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart *
thy comforts have refreshed my soul.
20 Wilt thou have any thing to do with the stool of wickedness *
which imagineth mischief as a law?
21 They gather them together against the soul of the righteous *
and condemn the innocent blood.
22 But the Lord is my refuge *
and my God is the strength of my confidence.
23 He shall recompense them their wickedness, and destroy them in their own malice *
yea, the Lord our God shall destroy them.
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 93 (LSB Tone A: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-93-LSB.mp3)
The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established;
it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty.
Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.
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 94 (Karl Kohlhase: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-94-KH.mp3)
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth,
give recompense to the proud.
How long shall the wicked, O LORD,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour forth words speaking proudly;
and all who do evil boast.
They crush your people, O LORD,
and afflict your inheritance.
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
They slay the widow and stranger,
and even murder orphans.
They say, “The LORD does not see us,
nor does Jacob’s God pay heed.”
Pay heed, all fools of the nations;
when will you fools understand?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
he who formed the eye, not see?
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
Will he not rebuke who strikes nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge?
The thoughts of man the LORD knows,
that they are merely a breath.
LORD, blessed is the man whom you chasten,
and whom you teach from Your law;
Relieved from days of trouble,
while a pit is dug for the wicked.
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
For the LORD won’t abandon his people,
nor will he leave his inheritance.
For judgment will turn for the righteous,
all the upright in heart will follow.
Who will stand with me against evil?
With me against the wicked?
If the LORD had not been my help,
then my soul would soon become mute.
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your love, O LORD, holds me up.
When alarming thoughts grow within me,
then your comfort delights my soul.
Can a throne of ruin be united,
which makes its laws out of mischief?
Set against the life of the righteous,
and condemning the pure to death.
O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
But the LORD has been my stronghold,
my God the rock of my refuge.
He returns their evil upon them,
they’re destroyed by their own wickedness
The LORD our God. will destroy them!
PRAYER
Omnipotent God,
your glory is incomprehensible,
your majesty infinite,
and your power incomparable.
Found us on the certainty of your promises,
that no matter what happens,
we may be firm in faith
and live uprightly in your church,
bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
Wisdom built her house;
she has carved out her seven pillars.
She slaughtered her animals,
mixed her wine,
and set her table.
She sends out her female servants; she issues an invitation
from the top of the city heights:
“Whoever is naive turn aside here,”
she says to those who lack sense.
“Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
Abandon your simplistic ways and live;
walk in the way of understanding.”
HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: Hursley https://tinyurl.com/msm8an4a
1 Happy the man who finds the grace,
The blessing of God’s chosen race,
The wisdom coming from above,
The faith that sweetly works by love.
2 Wisdom divine! who tells the price
Of wisdom’s costly merchandise?
Wisdom to silver we prefer,
And gold is dross compared to her.
3 Her hands are filled with length of days,
True riches, and immortal praise,
Riches of Christ on all bestowed,
And honour that descends from God.
4 To purest joys she all invites,
Chaste, holy, spiritual delights;
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her flowery paths are peace.
5 Happy the man who wisdom gains;
Thrice happy, who his guest retains;
He owns, and shall for ever own,
Wisdom, and Christ, and heaven, are one.
What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being. God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. Who knows a person’s depths except their own spirit that lives in them? In the same way, no one has known the depths of God except God’s Spirit. We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God. These are the things we are talking about—not with words taught by human wisdom but with words taught by the Spirit—we are interpreting spiritual things to spiritual people. But people who are unspiritual don’t accept the things from God’s Spirit. They are foolishness to them and can’t be understood, because they can only be comprehended in a spiritual way. Spiritual people comprehend everything, but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone. Who has known the mind of the Lord, who will advise him? But we have the mind of Christ.
HYMN: Jacque B Jones ©
Tune: Star in the East https://tinyurl.com/3ctkt3ma
1 We long to know her, the maker of heaven,
knitter of sinews and planter of grains,
guardian of sheep and the founder of vineyards:
she is the stronghold who gently sustains.
She is the sculptor who carved earth from darkness,
architect building creation from dust.
She is the potter who formed us and made us,
gave us her breath, and now yearns for our trust.
2 We long to hear her, bold thunder of heaven:
voice among voices that summon the soul;
without her presence, there is no completeness,
with her unheard, heaven cannot be whole.
We know her laughter is piercing the cosmos;
we know she judges injustice on earth.
Shelter and shield of the hopeless and helpless,
from her we learn of our infinite worth.
3 We long to see you, veiled wonder of heaven:
hidden from view, be revealed in the light.
Open our eyes to your wisdom around us;
author of beauty, enliven our sight.
Heart of the holy and hands of the sacred,
godhead uniting compassion and might:
bearing your likeness, impatient to greet you,
we come to worship in awe and delight!
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me and still don’t believe. Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and I won’t send away anyone who comes to me. I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of the one who sent me, that I won’t lose anything he has given me, but I will raise it up at the last day. This is my Father’s will: that all who see the Son and believe in him will have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
The Jewish opposition grumbled about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They asked, “Isn’t this Jesus, Joseph’s son, whose mother and father we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus responded, “Don’t grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless they are drawn to me by the Father who sent me, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. I assure you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that whoever eats from it will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
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 Joe Milner
For the Church: that we, who eat the living bread and drink the blood of life, may be united with Christ and raised up on the last day
For a renewal of God’s Spirit in our hearts: that God will pour out the Spirit upon us in new ways so that we may make the most of every opportunity given us by God
For the gift of Wisdom: that partaking of Wisdom’s table of the word, we may grasp the meaning and purpose of the life that God offers us
For unity amongst Christians: that all who bear the name Christian will work toward healing the wounds of the Body of Christ and sharing common worship
For a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist: that as we eat His body and drink His blood, we may recognize ourselves as part of the Body of Christ and continue the mission of Jesus to bring life to others
For a transformation of our eating habits: that the Spirit will guide us to better eating habits and greater concern for the ethical aspects of our food consumption
For our nation: that leaders of government and business will be led by the wisdom of God to choose good rather than evil, honesty rather than deceit, and service rather than greed
For all who hunger for freedom, for respect, and for meaning in life: that through the words of Christ and the witness of Christians, they may find fulfillment for the longings of their hearts
For those with food addictions: that the Spirit will free them, help them find the assistance that they need, and discover fulfillment for their lives in new ways
For greater patience with ourselves and our loved ones: that we may slow down enough to appreciate all the gifts with which we have been blessed and to nurture those relationships that bring us life
For all who are recovering from the natural disasters and for those who are assisting them: that God will give them strength, ease their suffering and fill their hearts with hope
For all students preparing to leave for college: that God will guide them during their time away, help them to make wise decisions, give them strength to live the values that they profess
For the presbyters who serve our community: that they will be witnesses of Christ’s loving service as they lead us into deeper communion with God and one another
For greater care and respect for God’s creation: that the Spirit will guide our choices in the use and protection of earth’s resources
For the growth of peace, particularly in the Middle East: that leaders of nations may have wisdom and courage to find new paths to promote the good of the human family
(Traditional chant: http://oremus.org/chant/LP-1940.mp3)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Bread of life,
you taught us to put away bitterness and anger,
and with tenderhearted kindness
to share the fruit of our labor with the needy.
Strengthen us by your grace,
that in communion with you,
we may forgive one another
and live in love as Christ loved us. Amen. RCLP
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
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
1 Adam Bartlett, Simple English Propers; audio from https://musicasacra.com/additional-publications/sep-practice-videos/ ©
The intercession is by Joe Milner http://liturgy.slu.edu
RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.
RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.
The Lord’s Prayer is the traditional chant as set in The Hymnal 1940 and sung by Kathryn Mannyng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsJ2TB9pLbU
The three main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible.
The traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). Psalm 93 is in the version from Lutheran Service Book © Concordia Publishing House. Sung to LSB Tone A and sourced from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doYQAH0xA6k. Psalms 94 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 © 2024 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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