Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/jrf6v6t2
Say to the faint of heart: Be strong and do not fear.
Behold, our God will come, and he will save us. Isaiah 35
Gracious God,
your goodness surpasses everything else.
Uphold us day after day,
and teach us night after night,
that we may follow in the path of life
and be filled with resurrection joy;
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: John Ellerton
Tune: Beatitudo https://tinyurl.com/mr3hyww9
1 The Lord be with us as we bend
His blessing to receive;
His gift of peace on us descend
Before His courts we leave.
2 The Lord be with us as we walk
Along our homeward road;
In silent thought or friendly talk
Our hearts be near to God.
3 The Lord be with us till the night
Shall close the day of rest;
Be He of every heart the Light,
Of every home the Guest.
4 The Lord be with us through the hours
Of slumber, calm and deep;
Protect our homes, renew our powers,
And guard His people’s sleep.
PSALMS
Psalm 15 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y88d98g2)
1 Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle *
or who shall rest upon thy holy hill?
2 Even he that leadeth an uncorrupt life *
and doeth the thing which is right,
and speaketh the truth from his heart.
3 He that hath used no deceit in his tongue,
nor done evil to his neighbour *
and hath not slandered his neighbour.
4 He that setteth not by himself,
but is lowly in his own eyes *
and maketh much of them that fear the Lord.
5 He that sweareth unto his neighbour,
and disappointeth him not *
though it were to his own hindrance.
6 He that hath not given his money upon usury *
nor taken reward against the innocent.
7 Whoso doeth these things *
shall never fall.
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 16 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ydhl4u74)
1 Preserve me, O God *
for in thee have I put my trust.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord *
Thou art my God, my goods are nothing unto thee.
3 All my delight is upon the saints, that are in the earth *
and upon such as excel in virtue.
4 But they that run after another god *
shall have great trouble.
5 Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer *
neither make mention of their names within my lips.
6 The Lord himself is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup *
thou shalt maintain my lot.
7 The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground *
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
8 I will thank the Lord for giving me warning *
my reins also chasten me in the night-season.
9 I have set God always before me *
for he is on my right hand, therefore I shall not fall.
10 Wherefore my heart was glad, and my glory rejoiced *
my flesh also shall rest in hope.
11 For why? thou shalt not leave my soul in hell *
neither shalt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
12 Thou shalt shew me the path of life;
in thy presence is the fulness of joy *
and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore.
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 17 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yahr8qsc)
1 Hear the right, O Lord, consider my complaint *
and hearken unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence *
and let thine eyes look upon the thing that is equal.
3 Thou hast proved and visited mine heart in the night-season;
thou hast tried me, and shalt find no wickedness in me *
for I am utterly purposed that my mouth shall not offend.
4 Because of men’s works, that are done against the words of thy lips *
I have kept me from the ways of the destroyer.
5 O hold thou up my goings in thy paths *
that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon thee, O God, for thou shalt hear me *
incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words.
7 Shew thy marvellous loving-kindness,
thou that art the Saviour of them which put their trust in thee *
from such as resist thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of an eye *
hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the ungodly that trouble me *
mine enemies compass me round about to take away my soul.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat *
and their mouth speaketh proud things.
11 They lie waiting in our way on every side *
turning their eyes down to the ground;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey *
and as it were a lion’s whelp, lurking in secret places.
13 Up, Lord, disappoint him, and cast him down *
deliver my soul from the ungodly, which is a sword of thine;
14 From the men of thy hand, O Lord,
from the men, I say, and from the evil world *
which have their portion in this life,
whose bellies thou fillest with thy hid treasure.
15 They have children at their desire *
and leave the rest of their substance for their babes.
16 But as for me, I will behold thy presence in righteousness *
and when I awake up after thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it.
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 15 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-15-1.mp3)
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend; *
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong *
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things *
shall never be overthrown.
Psalm 16 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-16.mp3)
1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord,
my good above all other.”
2 All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *
upon those who are noble among the people.
3 But those who run after other gods *
shall have their troubles multiplied.
4 Their libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5 O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; *
it is you who uphold my lot.
6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night.
8 I have set the LORD always before me; *
because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *
my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 17 (Gregorian Tone 6, alt.)
1 O Lord, hear a cause that is just, *
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer: *
no deceit is on my lips.
2 From you may my justice come forth. *
Your eyes discern what is upright.
3 Search my heart and visit me by night. *
Test me by fire, and you will find no wrong in me.
4 My mouth does not transgress as others do; †
on account of the words of your lips, *
I have avoided the paths of the violent.
5 I kept my steps firmly in your paths. *
My feet have never faltered.
6 To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God. *
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
7 Display your merciful love, †
you who will deliver from their foes *
those who trust in your right hand.
8 Guard me as the apple of your eye. †
Hide me in the shadow of your wings *
9 from the violent attack of the wicked.
My foes encircle me with deadly intent. *
10 Their hearts tight shut, their mouths speak proudly.
11 They advance against me, and now they surround me. *
Their eyes watch to strike me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion ready to claw, *
like some young lion crouched in hiding.
13 Arise, O LORD, confront them, strike them down! *
Let your sword deliver my soul from the wicked!
14 Let your hand, O LORD, deliver me *
from those whose portion in life is of this world.
What you have stored up for them fills their bellies †
may their offspring be sated with its plenty *
and let them leave what is left for their young.
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness *
when I awake I shall be filled
with the vision of your presence.
PRAYER
O God our dwelling place,
in Christ you made your home among us.
Lead us in the paths of truth and integrity
until you bring us to your holy mountain
and we live forever in your presence;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. BCW2018
THE WORD OF GOD
READING: Ruth 2
Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man of the family of Elimelech whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” They answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” The young man who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now without resting even for a moment.”
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” Then she said, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some of this bread and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, saying, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.” Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise someone might bother you in another field.” So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, and she lived with her mother-in-law.
HYMN: Carl Boberg; trans. Stuart K Hine ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/yckbpft2
1 O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hands hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed;
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; [Refrain]
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross my burden gladly bearing
he bled and died to take away my sin; [Refrain]
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim: “My God, how great thou art!” [Refrain]
READING: 1 Corinthians 14:13-25
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written,
“By people of strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
yet even then they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the entire church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship, declaring, “God is really among you.”
HYMN: Edward Osler
Tune: St Flavian https://tinyurl.com/eenkmmhk
1 O God, unseen yet ever near,
thy presence may we feel;
and, thus inspired with holy fear,
before thine altar kneel.
2 Here may thy faithful people know
the blessings of thy love,
the streams that through the desert flow,
the manna from above.
3 We come, obedient to thy word,
to feast on heavenly food;
our meat the body of the Lord,
our drink his precious blood.
4 Thus may we all thy word obey,
for we, O God, are thine;
and go rejoicing on our way,
renewed with strength divine.
READING: Luke 5:12-16
Once when Jesus was in one of the cities, a man covered with a skin disease was there. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I am willing. Be made clean.” Immediately the skin disease left him. And he ordered him to tell no one. “But go, show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds were gathering to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Meanwhile, he would slip away to deserted places and pray.
CANTICLE Colossians 1:12-20
(Chant by John Michael Talbot https://tinyurl.com/ya95yzto)
Ant. He is the first born of all creation,
in every way the primacy is his.
Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints in light.
He rescued us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him; all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church!
He who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
THE PRAYERS BCW
God of all mercies,
we praise you that you have brought us to this new day,
brightening our lives with the dawn
of promise and hope in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
the warmth of sunlight,
the wetness of rain and snow,
and all that nourishes the earth…
the presence and power of your Spirit . . .
the support and encouragement we receive from others . . .
those who provide for public safety and well-being . . .
the mission of the church around the world. . . .
Merciful God,
strengthen us in prayer
that we may lift up the brokenness of this world for your healing,
and share in the saving love of Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
those in positions of authority over others . . .
the lonely and forgotten . . .
children without families or homes . . .
agents of caring and relief . . .
the church in Asia and the Middle East….
(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.
Divine Physician,
healer of bodies and souls,
stretch out your hand and touch us.
Cleanse our hearts from the sin
that separates us from you and one another.
Recreate us in your own image,
and restore us in Christ,
so that we may run the race
and receive the prize of everlasting life. 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.
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 language versions of Psalm 15 and 16 are from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and are sung by Ryland Angel. Psalm 17 is from The Abbey Psalms and is from the Chants & Rants YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@chantsandrants
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 