Harriet Tubman
Slave births were recorded under property, not as persons with names; but we know that Harriet Ross, born sometime during 1820 on a Maryland Chesapeake Bay plantation, was the sixth of eleven children born to Ben Ross and Harriet Green. To cope with brutality and oppression, she turned to religion. Her favorite Bible story was about Moses who led the Israelites out of slavery. The slaves prayed for a Moses of their own. When she was about 24, Harriet escaped to Canada, but could not forget her parents and other slaves she left behind. Working with the Quakers, she made at least 19 trips back to Maryland between 1851 and 1861, freeing over 300 people by leading them into Canada. When the Civil War began, she quickly joined the Union Army, serving as cook and nurse, caring for both Confederate and Union soldiers. She served as a spy and scout. She led 300 black troops on a raid which freed over 750 slaves, making her the first American woman to lead troops into military action. In 1858–9, she moved to upstate New York where she opened her home to African-American orphans and to helpless old people. Although she was illiterate, she founded schools for African-American children. She joined the fight for women’s rights, working with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but supported African-American women in their efforts to found their own organizations to address equality, work and education. HWHM
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/ytnbfkw9
You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right;
treat your servant in accord with your merciful love. Psalm 119
Merciful God,
you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you.
We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy.
We have not loved you with a pure heart,
nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves.
We have not done justice, loved kindness,
or walked humbly with you, our God.
Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness.
In your great compassion,
cleanse us from our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within us.
Do not cast us from your presence,
or take your Holy Spirit from us.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation
and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit. Amen. BCW
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ufxekitx
God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory 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.
HYMN: Spiritual
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/4zhukv28
1 When Israel was in Egypt’s land,
Let my people go,
oppressed so hard they could not stand,
Let my people go.
Refrain:
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land,
tell old Pharaoh: Let my people go.
2 The Lord told Moses what to do,
Let my people go,
to lead the Hebrew children through,
Let my people go. [Refrain]
3 As Israel stood by the waterside,
Let my people go,
at God’s command it did divide,
Let my people go. [Refrain]
4 When they had reached the other shore,
Let my people go,
they let the song of triumph soar,
Let my people go. [Refrain]
5 Lord, help us all from bondage flee,
Let my people go,
and let us all in Christ be free,
Let my people go. [Refrain]
PSALMS
Psalm 50 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yaptmvbw)
1 The Lord, even the most mighty God, hath spoken *
and called the world, from the rising up of the sun,
unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Sion hath God appeared *
in perfect beauty.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence *
there shall go before him a consuming fire,
and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him.
4 He shall call the heaven from above *
and the earth, that he may judge his people.
5 Gather my saints together unto me *
those that have made a covenant with me with sacrifice.
6 And the heaven shall declare his righteousness *
for God is Judge himself.
7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak *
I myself will testify against thee, O Israel; for I am God, even thy God.
8 I will not reprove thee because of thy sacrifices,
or for thy burnt-offerings *
because they were not alway before me.
9 I will take no bullock out of thine house *
nor he-goat out of thy folds.
10 For all the beasts of the forest are mine *
and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the fowls upon the mountains *
and the wild beasts of the field are in my sight.
12 If I be hungry, I will not tell thee *
for the whole world is mine, and all that is therein.
13 Thinkest thou that I will eat bulls’ flesh *
and drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God thanksgiving *
and pay thy vows unto the most Highest.
15 And call upon me in the time of trouble *
so will I hear thee, and thou shalt praise me.
16 But unto the ungodly said God *
Why dost thou preach my laws, and takest my covenant in thy mouth;
17 Whereas thou hatest to be reformed *
and hast cast my words behind thee?
18 When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst unto him *
and hast been partaker with the adulterers.
19 Thou hast let thy mouth speak wickedness *
and with thy tongue thou hast set forth deceit.
20 Thou satest, and spakest against thy brother *
yea, and hast slandered thine own mother’s son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue,
and thou thoughtest wickedly, that I am even such a one as thyself *
but I will reprove thee, and set before thee
the things that thou hast done.
22 O consider this, ye that forget God *
lest I pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you.
23 Whoso offereth me thanks and praise, he honoureth me *
and to him that ordereth his conversation right
will I shew the salvation of God.
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 51 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yb6rfjqo)
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness *
according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.
2 Wash me throughly from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my faults *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight *
that thou mightest be justified in thy saying,
and clear when thou art judged.
5 Behold, I was shapen in wickedness *
and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
6 But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts *
and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
7 Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean *
thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness *
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Turn thy face from my sins *
and put out all my misdeeds.
10 Make me a clean heart, O God *
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence *
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
12 O give me the comfort of thy help again *
and stablish me with thy free Spirit.
13 Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked *
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God,
thou that art the God of my health *
and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.
15 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord *
and my mouth shall shew thy praise.
16 For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee *
but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
17 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.
18 O be favourable and gracious unto Sion *
build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness,
with the burnt-offerings and oblations *
then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.
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 52 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ycgabjj9)
1 Why boastest thou thyself, thou tyrant *
that thou canst do mischief;
2 Whereas the goodness of God *
endureth yet daily?
3 Thy tongue imagineth wickedness *
and with lies thou cuttest like a sharp razor.
4 Thou hast loved unrighteousness more than goodness *
and to talk of lies more than righteousness.
5 Thou hast loved to speak all words that may do hurt *
O thou false tongue.
6 Therefore shall God destroy thee for ever *
he shall take thee, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling,
and root thee out of the land of the living.
7 The righteous also shall see this, and fear *
and shall laugh him to scorn;
8 Lo, this is the man that took not God for his strength *
but trusted unto the multitude of his riches,
and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
9 As for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God *
my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.
10 I will always give thanks unto thee for that thou hast done *
and I will hope in thy Name, for thy saints like it 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 50: LSB Tone I http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-50-LSB.mp3)
1 The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth*
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,*
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;*
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above*
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,*
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,*
for God himself is judge!
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.*
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;*
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house*
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,*
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,*
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,*
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls*
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,*
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;*
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:*
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,*
and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,*
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,*
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;*
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.*
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,*
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;*
to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
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 51 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-51.mp3)
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.
15 Deliver me from death, O God, *
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
O God of my salvation.
16 Open my lips, O Lord, *
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, *
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
19 Be favorable and gracious to Zion, *
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
20 Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices,
with burnt-offerings and oblations; *
then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar.
Psalm 52 (Gregorian Tone I.1)
1 Why do you boast, you tyrant, *
that you can do evil;
2 Whereas the goodness of God *
endures all the day long?
3 Your tongue devises wickedness, *
and with lies you cut like a sharp razor.
4 You have loved unrighteousness more than goodness *
and to utter lies more than truth.
5 You have loved to speak all words that hurt, *
O you deceitful tongue.
6 Therefore, God shall destroy you for ever; *
he shall catch you, and pluck you out of your dwelling,
and root you out of the land of the living.
7 The righteous also shall see this and fear, *
and shall laugh him to scorn:
8 “Behold, this is the one who did not take God for his strength, *
but trusted in the multitude of his riches and relied
on his wickedness.”
9 As for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; *
my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.
10 I will always give thanks unto you for what you have done, *
and I will declare your Name among the faithful, for it is good.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
PRAYER
Almighty God,
your servant Jesus became obedient to death,
a sacrifice greater than all the sacrifices of old.
Receive the praise we offer,
not as we ought but as we are able,
and help us to dedicate our whole lives to you
as our spiritual worship;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. BCW2018
THE WORD OF GOD
Jeremiah 14:1-9, 17-22
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
Judah mourns,
and her gates languish;
they lie in gloom on the ground,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty.
They are ashamed and dismayed
and cover their heads,
because the ground is cracked.
Because there has been no rain on the land,
the farmers are dismayed;
they cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
The wild asses stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no herbage.
Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;
our rebellions indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.
O hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
Why should you be like someone confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!
You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is struck down with a crushing blow,
with a very grievous wound.
If I go out into the field,
look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
look—those sick with famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land
and have no knowledge.
Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace but find no good,
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
Can any idols of the nations bring rain,
or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.
HYMN: Psalm 61; para. Punjabi; trans. D. T. Niles ©
Tune:
Refrain:
Jesus, Savior, Lord, lo, to thee I fly:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam;
thou the Rock, my refuge that’s higher than I:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam.
1 In the midst of foes I cry to thee,
from the ends of earth wherever I may be;
my strength in helplessness, O answer me:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam. [Refrain]
2 In thy tent give me a dwelling place,
and beneath thy wings may I find sheltering grace;
O lift on me the sunshine of thy face:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam. [Refrain]
3 O that I my vows to thee may pay,
and that by thy faithfulness to me each day
may live, and on thy love my burdens lay:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam. [Refrain]
4 Yesterday, today, fore’er the same,
lo, the heritage of all who bear thy name;
to ransom them from sin the Savior came:
Saranam, Saranam, Saranam.
READING: Hebrews 4:14-5:14
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness, and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered, and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
HYMN: Thomas Moore & Thomas Hastings
Tune: Consolator https://tinyurl.com/5cv3a9f8
1 Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel:
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.
2 Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot cure.”
3 Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above:
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.
READING: Mark 11:20-25
In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
CANTICLE Deuteronomy 32:1-12
(Sing the Hours)
Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;
let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!
May my instruction soak in like the rain,
and my discourse permeate like the dew,
Like a downpour upon the grass,
like a shower upon the crops:
For I will sing the Lord’s renown.
Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!
The Rock – how faultless are his deeds,
how right all his ways!
A faithful God, without deceit,
how just and upright he is!
Yet basely has he been treated by his degenerate children,
a perverse and crooked race!
Is the Lord to be thus repaid by you,
O stupid and foolish people?
Is he not your father who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
Think back on the days of old,
reflect on the years of age upon age.
Ask your father and he will inform you,
ask your elders and they will tell you:
When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage,
when he parceled out the descendants of Adam,
He set up the boundaries of the peoples
after the number of the sons of God;
While the Lord’s own portion was Jacob,
His hereditary share was Israel.
He found them in a wilderness,
a wasteland of howling desert.
He shielded them and cared for them,
guarding them as the apple of his eye.
As an eagle incites its nestlings forth
by hovering over its brood,
So he spread his wings to receive them
and bore them up on his pinions.
The Lord alone was their leader,
no strange god was with him.
PRAYERS CCP
Send forth your strength, O God,
Establish what you have wrought in us.
Uphold all those who fall
And raise up those who are bowed down.
Open the eyes of the blind
And set the prisoners free.
Sustain the orphan and widow
And give food to those who hunger.
Grant them the joy of your help again
And sustain them with your Spirit.
O Lord, judge the peoples
And take all nations for your own.
(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.
O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servant Harriet. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. HWHM
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.
BCW2018 Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 2018
DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.
HWHM Holy Women, Holy Men © 2010 The Church Pension Fund.
CCP Celebrating Common Prayer, © The European Province of the Society of Saint Francis 1992
The main scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The traditional-language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern versions of Psalm 50 is the version in Lutheran Service Book and from the Next to the Word of God YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVRYL-MRebncw584Ql2xfg. Psalm 51 is from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and is sung by Ryland Angel. Psalm 52 is from Book of Common Prayer (2019) and is from the St Bernard Breviary https://www.bernardbreviary.com/chant-helps. The canticle is from Liturgy of the Hours as recorded for the Sing the Hours podcast https://www.youtube.com/c/singthehour.
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 © 2026 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 