Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/fayvbr3t
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread?
When those who do evil draw near, they stumble and fall. Psalm 27
O God,
your love is wider than all the universe
and your mercy greater than the heights of heaven.
When we are tempted to break faith with you,
put a new song of love on our lips,
that we may sing your praises to all nations on earth,
through your Son, our only hope and defense. Amen. BCW
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: Arfon Major
1. See how great a flame aspires,
Kindled by a spark of grace!
Jesus’ love the nations fires,
Sets the kingdoms on a blaze.
To bring fire on Earth he came;
Kindled in some hearts it is;
Oh! that all might catch the flame,
All partake the glorious bliss!
2. When he first the work began,
Small and feeble was his day;
Now the word does swiftly run,
Now it wins its wid’ning way.
More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin’s strongholds it now o’erthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of Hell.
3. Heirs of God, your Savior praise!
He the door has opened wide;
He has giv’n the word of grace;
Jesus’ word is glorified.
Jesus, mighty to redeem,
He alone the work has wro’t;
Worthy is the work of him,
He who spoke a world from naught.
4. Saw you not the cloud arise,
Little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs o’er all the thirsty land!
Lo! the promise of a show’r
Drops already from above,
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the Spirit of his love!
PSALMS
Psalm 108 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y9us7zs5)
1 O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready *
I will sing and give praise with the best member that I have.
2 Awake, thou lute, and harp *
I myself will awake right early.
3 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the people *
I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4 For thy mercy is greater than the heavens *
and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
5 Set up thyself, O God, above the heavens *
and thy glory above all the earth.
6 That thy beloved may be delivered *
let thy right hand save them, and hear thou me.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness *
I will rejoice therefore, and divide Sichem,
and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine, and Manasses is mine *
Ephraim also is the strength of my head.
9 Judah is my law-giver, Moab is my wash-pot *
over Edom will I cast out my shoe; upon Philistia will I triumph.
10 Who will lead me into the strong city *
and who will bring me into Edom?
11 Hast not thou forsaken us, O God *
and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12 O help us against the enemy *
for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do great acts *
and it is he that shall tread down our enemies.
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 109 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y9dslk3v)
1 Hold not thy tongue, O God of my praise *
for the mouth of the ungodly, yea,
the mouth of the deceitful is opened upon me.
2 And they have spoken against me with false tongues *
they compassed me about also with words of hatred,
and fought against me without a cause.
3 For the love that I had unto them, lo, they take now my contrary part *
but I give myself unto prayer.
4 Thus have they rewarded me evil for good *
and hatred for my good will.
5 Set thou an ungodly man to be ruler over him *
and let Satan stand at his right hand.
6 When sentence is given upon him, let him be condemned *
and let his prayer be turned into sin.
7 Let his days be few *
and let another take his office.
8 Let his children be fatherless *
and his wife a widow.
9 Let his children be vagabonds, and beg their bread *
let them seek it also out of desolate places.
10 Let the extortioner consume all that he hath *
and let the stranger spoil his labour.
11 Let there be no man to pity him *
nor to have compassion upon his fatherless children.
12 Let his posterity be destroyed *
and in the next generation let his name be clean put out.
13 Let the wickedness of his fathers be had
in remembrance in the sight of the Lord *
and let not the sin of his mother be done away.
14 Let them alway be before the Lord *
that he may root out the memorial of them from off the earth;
15 And that, because his mind was not to do good *
but persecuted the poor helpless man,
that he might slay him that was vexed at the heart.
16 His delight was in cursing, and it shall happen unto him *
he loved not blessing, therefore shall it be far from him.
17 He clothed himself with cursing, like as with a raiment *
and it shall come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
18 Let it be unto him as the cloke that he hath upon him *
and as the girdle that he is alway girded withal.
19 Let it thus happen from the Lord unto mine enemies *
and to those that speak evil against my soul.
20 But deal thou with me, O Lord God, according unto thy Name *
for sweet is thy mercy.
21 O deliver me, for I am helpless and poor *
and my heart is wounded within me.
22 I go hence like the shadow that departeth *
and am driven away as the grasshopper.
23 My knees are weak through fasting *
my flesh is dried up for want of fatness.
24 I became also a reproach unto them *
they that looked upon me shaked their heads.
25 Help me, O Lord my God *
O save me according to thy mercy;
26 And they shall know, how that this is thy hand *
and that thou, Lord, hast done it.
27 Though they curse, yet bless thou *
and let them be confounded that rise up against me;
but let thy servant rejoice.
28 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame *
and let them cover themselves with their own confusion,
as with a cloke.
29 As for me, I will give great thanks unto the Lord with my mouth *
and praise him among the multitude;
30 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor *
to save his soul from unrighteous judges.
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 108 (Gregorian Tone IV.4)
1 O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is firmly fixed; *
I will sing and give praise with the best that I have.
2 Awake, my soul; awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will awaken the dawn.
3 I will give thanks unto you, O Lord, among the peoples, *
and I will sing praises unto you among the nations,
4 For the greatness of your mercy reaches to the heavens, *
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
5 Exalt yourself, O God, above the heavens; *
let your glory be over all the earth.
6 That your beloved may be delivered, *
save me by your right hand, and answer me.
7 God has spoken in his holiness: *
“I will rejoice and divide Shechem,
and parcel out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; *
Ephraim also is the helmet for my head;
Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my wash-pot; over Edom will I cast my shoe; *
over Philistia will I triumph.”
10 Who will lead me into the strong city, *
and who will bring me into Edom?
11 Have you not forsaken us, O God? *
And will you not, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12 O help us against the enemy, *
for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do great acts, *
for it is he who shall tread down our enemies.
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.
Psalm 109 (Gregorian Tone IV.4)
1 Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise, *
for the mouth of the ungodly,
the mouth of the deceitful is opened upon me.
2 They have spoken against me with false tongues; *
they encompassed me with words of hatred,
and fought against me without a cause.
3 In return for the love that I had for them,
they have become my adversaries; *
but I give myself to prayer.
4 Thus have they rewarded me evil for good, *
and hatred for my love.
5 Set an ungodly man to be ruler over him, *
and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
6 When judgment is given, let him be condemned, *
and let sentence be passed on him for guilt.
7 Let his days be few, *
and let another take his office.
8 Let his children be fatherless *
and his wife a widow.
9 Let his children be vagabonds and beg their bread; *
let them be driven out, even from desolate places.
10 Let the creditor consume all that he has, *
and let strangers take his labor for spoil.
11 Let there be no one to pity him, *
nor to have compassion upon his fatherless children.
12 Let his posterity be destroyed, *
and in the next generation let his name be blotted out.
13 Let the wickedness of his fathers be held in remembrance
in the sight of the Lord, *
and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
14 Let them be always before the Lord, *
that he may root out the memorial of them from the earth,
15 Because he was not minded to do good, *
but persecuted to death the poor and needy,
and those who were brokenhearted.
16 His delight was in cursing;
let curses come upon him; *
he loved not blessing;
therefore let it be far from him.
17 He clothed himself with cursing as with a garment, *
so let it soak into his body like water,
and like oil into his bones.
18 Let it be to him as the cloak that he has on *
and as the belt that he always wears.
19 Let this be the recompense from the Lord to my enemies, *
and to those who speak evil against my soul.
20 But deal with me, O Lord God, according to your Name; *
for sweet is your mercy.
21 O deliver me, for I am helpless and poor, *
and my heart is wounded within me.
22 I disappear like the shadow that lengthens, *
and am shaken off like a grasshopper.
23 My knees are weak through fasting; *
my flesh is grown lean for want of nourishment.
24 I have become a reproach to them; *
when they look on me, they shake their heads.
25 Help me, O Lord my God; *
save me according to your mercy;
26 And they shall know that this is your hand, *
and that you, O Lord, have done it.
27 Though they curse, yet you bless; *
let them be confounded who rise up against me,
but let your servant rejoice.
28 Let my adversaries be clothed with shame, *
and let them cover themselves with their
own disgrace as with a cloak.
29 As for me,
I will give great thanks unto the Lord with my mouth, *
and praise him among the multitude,
30 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, *
to save their souls from the unrighteous judges.
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
God,
source of all truth and love,
the comfort and consolation
of the reproached and friendless,
in your great mercy draw
near to deliver the poor, the needy,
and the wounded of heart;
through the one who suffered rejection
and rebuke for us all,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BAS
THE WORD OF GOD
READING: 1 Kings 13:1-32
A man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense. And he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: A son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.” He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: The altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.” When the king heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But the hand that he stretched out against him withered so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. The king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and dine, and I will give you a gift.” But the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your kingdom, I will not go in with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place. For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by the way that you came.’ ” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.
Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also that he had spoken to the king, they told to their father. Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey for him, and he mounted it. He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.” But he said, “I cannot return with you or go in with you, nor will I eat food or drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat food or drink water there or return by the way that you came.’ ” Then the other said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, ‘Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ ” But he was deceiving him. Then the man of God went back with him and ate food and drank water in his house.
As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back, and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you but have come back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, ‘Eat no food, and drink no water,’ your body shall not come to your ancestral tomb.” After the man of God had eaten food and had drunk, they saddled for him a donkey belonging to the prophet who had brought him back. Then as he went away, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. People passed by and saw the body thrown in the road, with the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the town where the old prophet lived.
When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” Then he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled one, and he went and found the body thrown in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey. The prophet took up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” After he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying that he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”
HYMN: Timothy Dudley-Smith ©
Tune: Repton https://tinyurl.com/6jf85544
1 He comes to us as one unknown,
A breath unseen, unheard;
As though within a heart of stone,
Or shriveled seed in darkness sown,
A pulse of being stirred,
A pulse of being stirred.
2 He comes when souls in silence lie
And thoughts of day depart;
Half seen upon the inward eye,
A falling star across the sky
Of night within the heart,
Of night within the heart.
3 He comes to us in sound of seas,
The ocean’s fume and foam;
Yet small and still upon the breeze,
A wind that stirs the tops of trees,
A voice to call us home,
A voice to call us home.
4 He comes in love as once he came
By flesh and blood and birth;
To bear within our mortal frame
A life, a death, a saving Name,
For ev’ry child of earth,
For ev’ry child of earth.
5 He comes in truth when faith is grown;
Believed, obeyed, adored:
The Christ in all the scriptures shown,
As yet unseen, but not unknown,
Our Savior and our Lord,
Our Savior and our Lord.
READING: Philippians 3:12-21
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
HYMN: John Nelson Darby
Tune: Lyons https://tinyurl.com/yz2mu94z
1 Though faint, yet pursuing, we go on our way;
The Lord is our leader, His Word is our stay;
Though suffering, and sorrow, and trial be near,
The Lord is our refuge, and whom can we fear?
2 He raiseth the fallen, He cheereth the faint;
The weak and oppressed, He will hear their complaint;
The way may be weary, and thorny the road,
But how can we falter? Our help is in God!
3 And to His green pastures our footsteps He leads;
His flock in the desert, ho kindly He feeds!
the lambs in His bosom He tenderly bears,
And brings back the wanderers safe from the snares.
4 Though clouds may surround us, our God is our light;
Though storms rage around us, our God is our might;
So faint, yet pursuing, still onward we come;
The Lord is our leader, and heaven is our home!
READING: Luke 12:49-53
Jesus said, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
CANTICLE Isaiah 40:10-17 (Sing the Hours)
Here comes with power
the Lord God,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea,
and marked off the heavens with a span?
Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth,
weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
or has instructed him as his counselor?
Whom did he consult to gain knowledge?
Who taught him the path of judgment,
or showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations count as a drop of the bucket,
as dust on the scales;
the coastlands weigh no more than powder.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor its animals be enough for holocausts.
Before him all the nations are as nought,
as nothing and void he accounts them.
THE PRAYERS AAPB
God our Father,
you gave your Son Jesus Christ
to share our common life,
to grow in wisdom,
to work with his hands,
and to make known the ways of your kingdom:
We give thanks
for his revelation of yourself
for his care and acceptance of people
for his joy in obedience . . .
for the value he gave to human work
for the strength he promised us in serving others
for the call to follow in his way . . .
for all opportunities of work and leisure
for all the truth we have learned
for all the discoveries humankind has made . . .
We pray for our human society
those who work
the unemployed
those who teach and those who learn . . .
research workers . . .
those who work in the press, radio, and television . . .
those who maintain the life of our community . . .
Give us reverence for the truth,
and wisdom to use the knowledge you give us
to the glory of your Name
and the benefit of humankind
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Setting by Eric Wyse:2
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
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.
God of our lives,
by the power of your Holy Spirit
we have been drawn together by one baptism into one faith,
serving one Lord and Savior.
Do not let us tear away from one another
through division or hard argument.
May your peace embrace our differences,
preserving us in unity,
as one body of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCW
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.
BAS Book of Alternative Services © 1985, Anglican Church of Canada.
AAPB An Australian Prayer Book, © 1978 Anglican Church of Australia
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 Psalms 108 and 109 are from Book of Common Prayer (2019) as recorded for 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 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.
