Oremus for August 19, 2026

The Golden Rule, Norman Rockwell, 1961

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/ccyc2h5h

O people of Sion, behold,
the Lord will come to save the nations,
and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard
in the joy of your heart. Isaiah 30

Lord our God,
we come before you with thanksgiving and praise,
for you have created us as your people
and you sustain us with your hand.
Nourish us in your rich pasture
and keep us in your steadfast love,
that we may bless your name
and serve you with gladness day after day;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. BCW2018

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: Charles Wesley
Tune: Amsterdam https://tinyurl.com/9ezuy25k

1 Jesus, let Thy pitying eye
Call back a wandering sheep;
False to Thee, like Peter, I
Would fain, like Peter, weep;
Let me be by grace restored,
On me be all long-suffering shown;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

2 Saviour, Prince, enthrone above,
Repentance to impart,
Give me, through Thy dying love,
The humble, contrite heart;
Speak the reconciling word,
And let Thy mercy melt me down;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

3 For Thine own compassion’s sake
The gracious wonder show;
Cast my sins behind Thy back,
And wash me white as snow,
Speak my paradise restored
Redeem me by Thy grace alone;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

4 Look, as when Thy languid eye
Was closed, that we might live;
“Father,” at the point to die
My Saviour gasped “forgive!”
Surely, with that dying word,
He turns, and looks, and cries, “‘Tis done!”
O my bleeding, loving Lord,
Thou break’st my heart of stone!

PSALMS

Psalm 98 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ybagfe5m)
1  O sing unto the Lord a new song *
 for he hath done marvellous things.
2  With his own right hand, and with his holy arm *
 hath he gotten himself the victory.
3  The Lord declared his salvation *
 his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
4  He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel *
 and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.
5  Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands *
 sing, rejoice, and give thanks.
6  Praise the Lord upon the harp *
 sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.
7  With trumpets also, and shawms *
 O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.
8  Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is *
 the round world, and they that dwell therein.
9  Let the floods clap their hands,
and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord *
 for he is come to judge the earth.
10  With righteousness shall he judge the world *
 and the people with equity.
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 99 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ycxaq7mg)
1  The Lord is King, be the people never so impatient *
 he sitteth between the cherubims, be the earth never so unquiet.
2  The Lord is great in Sion *
 and high above all people.
3  They shall give thanks unto thy Name *
 which is great, wonderful, and holy.
4  The king’s power loveth judgement; thou hast prepared equity *
 thou hast executed judgement and righteousness in Jacob.
5  O magnify the Lord our God *
 and fall down before his footstool, for he is holy.
6  Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among such as call upon his Name *
 these called upon the Lord, and he heard them.
7  He spake unto them out of the cloudy pillar *
 for they kept his testimonies, and the law that he gave them.
8  Thou heardest them, O Lord our God *
 thou forgavest them, O God, and punishedst their own inventions.
9  O magnify the Lord our God, and worship him upon his holy hill *
 for the Lord our God is holy.
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 100 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ycklx9gf)
1  O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands *
 serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
2  Be ye sure that the Lord he is God *
 it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
3  O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise *
 be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
4  For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting *
 and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
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 101 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y7mv7duf)
1  My song shall be of mercy and judgement *
 unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
2  O let me have understanding *
 in the way of godliness.
3  When wilt thou come unto me *
 I will walk in my house with a perfect heart.
4  I will take no wicked thing in hand; I hate the sins of unfaithfulness *
 there shall no such cleave unto me.
5  A froward heart shall depart from me *
 I will not know a wicked person.
6  Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour *
 him will I destroy.
7  Whoso hath also a proud look and high stomach *
 I will not suffer him.
8  Mine eyes look upon such as are faithful in the land *
 that they may dwell with me.
9  Whoso leadeth a godly life *
 he shall be my servant.
10  There shall no deceitful person dwell in my house *
 he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
11  I shall soon destroy all the ungodly that are in the land *
 that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of 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 98 (LSB Tone F: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-98-LSB.mp3)
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn;
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it,
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord,
9 For he will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
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 99 (LSB Tone F: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-99-LSB.mp3)
1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy. is he!
4 The king in his might loves justice;
you have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God, worship at His footstool!
Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrong-doing.
9 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
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 100 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-100.mp3)
1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
serve the LORD with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Psalm 101 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-101.mp3)
1 I will sing of mercy and justice; *
to you, O LORD, will I sing praises.
2 I will strive to follow a blameless course;
oh, when will you come to me? *
I will walk with sincerity of heart within my house.
3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; *
I hate the doers of evil deeds;
they shall not remain with me.
4 A crooked heart shall be far from me; *
I will not know evil.
5 Those who in secret slander their neighbors I will destroy; *
those who have a haughty look and a proud
 heart I cannot abide.
6 My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may
 dwell with me, *
and only those who lead a blameless life shall
 be my servants.
7 Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, *
and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.
8 I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, *
that I may root out all evildoers from the city of the LORD.

PRAYER

Holy God,
you are exalted over all the nations,
and just in all your ways.
Strengthen us to worship you with our deeds
and to proclaim your greatness with our lips,
for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

READING: Deuteronomy 10:1-5, 10-22
Moses said, “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Carve out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed, and you shall put them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. Then he wrote on the tablets the same words as before, the ten commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them to me. So I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and there they are, as the Lord commanded me.”

“I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord listened to me. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you. The Lord said to me, ‘Get up, go on your journey at the head of the people, that they may go in and occupy the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them.’

“So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; him you shall serve; to him you shall hold fast; and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.”

HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: Old 113th

1 I’ll praise my Maker with my breath,
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my noblest pow’rs;
my days of praise shall ne’er be past,
while life, and thought, and being last,
or immortality endures.

2 Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
vain is the help of flesh and blood:
their breath departs, their pomp and pow’r,
and thoughts all vanish in an hour,
nor can they make their promise good.

3 Happy the man whose hopes rely
on Israel’s God; He made the sky,
and earth and seas, with all their train;
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
and none shall find His promise vain.

4 The LORD hath eyes to give the blind;
the LORD supports the sinking mind;
He sends the lab’ring conscience peace,
He helps the stranger in distress,
the widow and the fatherless,
and grants the pris’ner glad release.

READING: 1 Corinthians 9:12-18
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who work in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a wage, but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my wage? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

HYMN: George Herbert
Tune: Sandys https://tinyurl.com/jj28f2bj

1 Teach me, my God and King,
in all things Thee to see,
and what I do in anything,
to do it as for Thee.

2 To scorn the senses’ sway,
while still to Thee I tend;
in all I do be Thou the Way,
in all be Thou the End.

3 All may of Thee partake;
nothing so small can be,
but draws, when acted for Thy sake,
greatness and worth from Thee.

4 If done t’obey Thy laws,
e’en servile labors shine;
hallowed is toil, if this the cause,
the meanest work divine.

READING: Matthew 19:1-12
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.

Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

CANTICLE Isaiah 26:1-4, 7-9, 12
(Sing the Hours)

A strong city have we;
he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
Open up the gates
to let in a nation that is just,
one that keeps faith.
A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;
in peace, for its trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever!
For the Lord is an eternal Rock.
The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O Lord,
we look to you;
your name and your title
are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
when your judgment dawns upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn justice.
O Lord, you mete out peace to us,
for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.

THE PRAYERS BCW
Merciful God,
we praise you that you give strength for every weakness,
forgiveness for our failures,
and new beginnings in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
the guidance of your spirit through this day . . .
signs of new life and hope . . .
people who have helped us . . .
those who struggle for justice . . .
expressions of love unexpected or undeserved. . . .

Almighty God,
you know all needs before we speak our prayers,
yet you welcome our concerns for others in Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
those who keep watch over the sick and dying . . .
those who weep with the grieving . . .
those who are without faith and cannot accept your love . . .
the aged who are lonely, distressed or weak . . .

(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.

Holy God,
your forgiveness transcends
whatever wrong exists between us.
Grant us the courage to forgive others,
and to practice reconciliation
by the kindness of our speaking,
the sharing of our resources,
and the honoring of your desire for good. Amen. RCLP, alt.

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.

BCW2018 Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 2018

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

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 Psalms 100 and 101 are from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and are chanted by Ryland Angel. The modern versions of Psalms 98 and 99 are from Lutheran Service Book and are from the Next to the Word of God YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVRYL-MRebncw584Ql2xfg. The canticle is from Liturgy of the Hours as recorded for the Sing the Hours YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/SingtheHours

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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