Oremus for June 26, 2026

Eastlake, Charles Lock; Moses and the Daughters of Jethro; The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/moses-and-the-daughters-of-jethro-48257

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/4x5vwaa5

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord. Psalm 16

Eternal God,
give us insight to discern your will for us,
to give up what harms us,
and to seek the perfection we are promised
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CW: Additional Collects

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: John Bunyan
Tune: Monk’s Gate https://tinyurl.com/c8yjdtz4

1 Who would true valour see,
let him come hither;
one here will constant be,
come wind, come weather;
there’s no discouragement
shall make him once relent
his first avowed intent
to be a pilgrim.

2 Whoso beset him round
with dismal stories,
do but themselves confound,
his strength the more is.
No lion can him fright:
he’ll with a giant fight,
but he will have the right
to be a pilgrim.

3 Hobgoblin nor foul fiend
can daunt his spirit;
he knows he at the end
shall life inherit.
Then, fancies, fly away;
he’ll not fear what men say;
he’ll labour night and day
to be a pilgrim.

PSALMS

Psalm 119:145-176
(Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y74yj68g)

145  I call with my whole heart *
 hear me, O Lord, I will keep thy statutes.
146  Yea, even unto thee do I call *
 help me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
147  Early in the morning do I cry unto thee *
 for in thy word is my trust.
148  Mine eyes prevent the night-watches *
 that I might be occupied in thy words.
149  Hear my voice, O Lord, according unto thy loving-kindness *
 quicken me, according as thou art wont.
150  They draw nigh that of malice persecute me *
 and are far from thy law.
151  Be thou nigh at hand, O Lord *
 for all thy commandments are true.
152  As concerning thy testimonies, I have known long since *
 that thou hast grounded them for ever.

153  O consider mine adversity, and deliver me *
 for I do not forget thy law.
154  Avenge thou my cause, and deliver me *
 quicken me, according to thy word.
155  Health is far from the ungodly *
 for they regard not thy statutes.
156  Great is thy mercy, O Lord *
 quicken me, as thou art wont.
157  Many there are that trouble me, and persecute me *
 yet do I not swerve from thy testimonies.
158  It grieveth me when I see the transgressors *
 because they keep not thy law.
159  Consider, O Lord, how I love thy commandments *
 O quicken me, according to thy loving-kindness.
160  Thy word is true from everlasting *
 all the judgements of thy righteousness endure for evermore.

161  Princes have persecuted me without a cause *
 but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162  I am as glad of thy word *
 as one that findeth great spoils.
163  As for lies, I hate and abhor them *
 but thy law do I love.
164  Seven times a day do I praise thee *
 because of thy righteous judgements.
165  Great is the peace that they have who love thy law *
 and they are not offended at it.
166  Lord, I have looked for thy saving health *
 and done after thy commandments.
167  My soul hath kept thy testimonies *
 and loved them exceedingly.
168  I have kept thy commandments and testimonies *
 for all my ways are before thee.

169  Let my complaint come before thee, O Lord *
 give me understanding according to thy word.
170  Let my supplication come before thee *
 deliver me, according to thy word.
171  My lips shall speak of thy praise *
 when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172  Yea, my tongue shall sing of thy word *
 for all thy commandments are righteous.
173  Let thine hand help me *
 for I have chosen thy commandments.
174  I have longed for thy saving health, O Lord *
 and in thy law is my delight.
175  O let my soul live, and it shall praise thee *
 and thy judgements shall help me.
176  I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost *
 O seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments.
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 119:145-176 (Genevan Psalm 119 https://tinyurl.com/y4nj8yrr)

19 With my whole heart I call to you, O LORD;
answer me, save me, hear my voice of weeping.
I rise before the dawn and cry for help.
I meditate throughout the long night watches.
LORD, in your gracious judgment quicken me,
for your commands are light and truth forever.

20 From my affliction, LORD, deliver me;
defend my cause and save me from destruction.
Renew my life according to your word.
Salvation is denied to those who hate you,
but those who seek your justice will be blest.
LORD, grant me mercy, for I love your precepts.

21 When rulers persecute without a cause,
my heart remembers all your words of promise,
as one who, finding treasure, stands amazed.
Seven times a day I praise you for your justice.
Great peace have those who love your law, O God;
they cannot stumble if they do your bidding.

22 O let my cry be heard by you, O LORD.
My lips will speak your praise and sing your goodness.
Be ready with your hand to strengthen me.
Like a lost sheep I long for restoration.
O let me live to sing your praises, LORD.
Your law delights me; LORD, be my salvation.

PRAYER

Almighty God,
you gave the law to guide our lives.
May we never shrink from your commandments,
but, as we are taught by your Son Jesus,
fulfill the law in perfect love;
through Christ our Lord and Master,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen. BCW

THE WORD OF GOD
READING: Exodus 2:11-22
One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?” He answered, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.

So Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian and sat down by a well. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to share a meal.” Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”

HYMN: Ruth Duck ©
Tune: Festal Song https://tinyurl.com/5333bjru

1 Arise, your light is come!
The Spirit’s call obey;
show forth the glory of your God,
which shines on you today.

2 Arise, your light is come!
Fling wide the prison door;
proclaim the captive’s liberty,
good tidings to the poor.

3 Arise, your light is come!
All you in sorrow born,
bind up the brokenhearted ones
and comfort those who mourn.

4 Arise your light is come!
The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing;
God’s pow’r will make us strong.

READING: Acts 10:23-48
So Peter invited Cornelius’ men in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers and sisters from Joppa accompanied him. The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, worshiped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”

Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

HYMN: R.T. Brooks ©
Tune: St Helen https://tinyurl.com/ydkxtxut

1 Thanks to God whose word was spoken
in the deed that made the earth.
His the voice that called a nation,
his the fires that tried her worth.
God has spoken:
praise him for his open word.

2 Thanks to God whose Word Incarnate
glorified the flesh of man;
deeds and words and death and rising
tell the grace in heaven’s plan.
God has spoken:
praise him for his open word.

3 Thanks to God whose word was written
in the Bible’s sacred page,
record of the revelation
showing God to every age.
God has spoken:
praise him for his open word.

4 Thanks to God whose word is published
in the tongues of every race.
See its glory undiminished
by the change of time or place.
God has spoken:
praise him for his open word.

5 Thanks to God whose word is answered
by the Spirit’s voice within.
Here we drink of joy unmeasured,
life redeemed from death and sin.
God is speaking:
praise him for his open word.

READING: Matthew 10:16-23
Jesus continued, “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

CANTICLE Isaiah 61.10,11; 62.1-3
(Hildegard of Bingen https://tinyurl.com/26ehzcxk)
Refrain:
All   God makes righteousness and praise
blossom before all the nations.

1    I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 
my soul shall exult in my God;
2    Who has clothed me with the garments of salvation, 
and has covered me with the cloak of integrity,
3    As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, 
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
4    For as the earth puts forth her blossom, 
and as seeds in the garden spring up,
5    So shall God make righteousness and praise 
blossom before all the nations.
6    For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, 
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
7    Until her deliverance shines out like the dawn, 
and her salvation as a burning torch.
8    The nations shall see your deliverance, 
and all rulers shall see your glory;
9    Then you shall be called by a new name 
which the mouth of God will give.
10  You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, 
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

All   Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
All   God makes righteousness and praise
blossom before all the nations.

THE PRAYERS AAPB
Eternal God,
who declared in Christ Jesus
the completion of all your purposes of love;

We give thanks
for the triumphs of the gospel that herald your salvation
for the signs of renewal that declare the coming of your kingdom
for the revelation of the work of your grace in human lives . . .
for the unceasing praise of the company of heaven
for the promise to those who mourn that all tears will be wiped away
for the pledge of death destroyed and victory won . . .
for our foretaste of eternal life through baptism and the holy communion
for our hope in the Spirit
for the communion of saints
for all who rest in Christ . . .

We pray for the sick
those in pain . . .
the handicapped, the aged . . .
those who are tempted and despairing . . .
those who minister to them and care for them . . .
those who mourn . . .
May we live by faith, walk in hope, and be renewed in love,
until the whole world reflects your glory,
and you are all in all.
Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.

(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.

God of compassion,
you have opened the way for us
and brought us to yourself.
Pour your love into our hearts,
that, overflowing with joy,
we may freely share the blessings of your realm
and faithfully proclaim the good news of Christ. 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


BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.

RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.

AAPB An Australian Prayer Book, © 1978 Anglican Church of Australia

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 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 language version of Psalm 119 is from Psalter Hymnal © 1985, sung to the Genevan melody for Psalm 119.

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.

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