OREMUS for Friday, May 16, 2008
Ember Friday
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Blessed are you, O God,
by whose word the heavens were formed
and the earth was brought forth from the waters.
The reflection of your glory
****nes in each created thing,
and, though earth's flowering fades,
you call life out of death
into the light that endures forever,
For these and all your mercies, we praise you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever!
An opening canticle may be sung.
Psalm 43
Give judgement for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people;*
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
For you are the God of my strength;
why have you put me from you?*
and why do I go so heavily
while the enemy oppresses me?
Send out your light and your truth,
that they may lead me,*
and bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling;
That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness;*
and on the harp I will give thanks to you,
O God my God.
Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?*
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;*
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 134
Behold now, bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,*
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord;*
the Lord who made heaven and earth
bless you out of Zion.
A Song of David (1 Chronicles 29.10b-13,14b)
Blessed are you, God of Israel, for ever and ever,
for yours is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour and the majesty.
Everything in heaven and on earth is yours;
yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
and you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honour come from you
and you rule over all.
In your hand are power and might;
yours it is to give power and strength to all.
And now we give you thanks, our God,
and praise your glorious name.
For all things come from you,
and of your own have we given you.
Psalm 149
Alleluia!
Sing to the Lord a new song;*
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in his maker;*
let the children of Zion be joyful in their king.
Let them praise his name in the dance;*
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people*
and adorns the poor with victory.
Let the faithful rejoice in triumph;*
let them be joyful on their beds.
Let the praises of God be in their throat*
and a two-edged sword in their hand;
To wreak vengeance on the nations*
and punishment on the peoples;
To bind their kings in chains*
and their nobles with links of iron;
To inflict on them the judgement decreed;*
this is glory for all his faithful people.
Alleluia!
FIRST READING [Isaiah 52:1-10]:
Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for the uncir***cised and the unclean
shall enter you no more.
Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!
For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be
redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my
people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian,
too, has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what am I doing
here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without
cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day
long, my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name;
therefore on that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am
I.
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
HYMN
Words: John Keble (1792-1866)
Tune: Oriel http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/mid/oriel.mid
Lord of life, Prophetic Spirit,
In sweet measure evermore
To the holy children dealing
Each his gift from Thy rich store;
Bless Thy Family, adoring
As in Israel's schools of yore.
Holy Jesus, Eye most loving
On each young disciple bent;
Voice that, seeming earthly, summon'd
Samuel to the awful tent;
Hand that cast Elijah's mantle;
Thine be all Thy Grace hath lent.
As to Thine own seventy scholars
Thou of old Thine Arm didst reach,
Under Thy majestic shadow
Guiding them to do and teach,
Till their hour of solemn unction;
So be with us all and each.
God and Father of all Spirits,
Whose dread call young Joshua knew,
Forty days in darkness waiting
With Thy servant good and true,
Thence to wage Thy war descending,
Own us, Lord, Thy champions too.
One Thy Light, the Temple filling,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Three:
Meanest men and brightest Angels
Wait alike the word from Thee;
Highest musings, lowliest wor****p,
Must their preparation be.
Now Thou speakest - hear we trembling -
=46rom the glory comes a Voice.
Who accepts th' Almighty's mission?
Who will make Christ's work his choice?
Who for Us proclaim to sinners,
Turn, believe, endure, rejoice?
Here are we, Redeemer, send us!
But because Thy work is fire,
And our lips, unclean and earthly,
Breathe no breath of high desire;
Send Thy Seraph from the Altar
Veil'd, but in his bright attire.
Cause him, Lord, to fly full swiftly
With the mystic coal in hand,
Sin-consuming, soul-transforming
(Faith and love will understand);
Touch our lips, Thou awful Mercy,
With Thine own keen healing brand.
Thou didst come that fire to kindle;
Fain would we Thy torches prove,
Far and wide Thy beacons lighting
With the undying spark of love:
Only feed our flame, we pray Thee,
With Thy breathings from above.
Now to God, the soul's Creator,
To His Word and Wisdom sure,
To His all-enlightening Spirit,
Patron of the frail and poor,
Three in One, be praise and glory
Here and while the heav'ns endure.
SECOND READING [Acts 6]:
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve
called together the whole community of the disciples and said, 'It is
not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at
tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of
good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint
to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer
and to serving the word.' What they said pleased the whole community,
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,
together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and
Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the
apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples
increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became
obedient to the faith.
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among
the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the
Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of
those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But
they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he
spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, 'We have heard
him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.' They stirred up
the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly
confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They
set up false witnesses who said, 'This man never stops saying things
against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that
this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the
customs that Moses handed on to us.' And all who sat in the council
looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face
of an angel.
The Benedictus (Morning), the Magnificat (Evening), or Nunc dimittis
(Night) may follow.
Prayer:
There is one body and one spirit,
one hope in God's call to us;
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,
One God and Father of all.
Let us pray for the Church, responding "Lord, hear our prayer."
For your holy catholic Church,
in all times and in all places,
that it may continually be filled with the grace
of your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the Anglican Communion,
that in breadth of spirit and depth of devotion
it may constantly rediscover its character as a church for all
people,
and that it may reach out to all peoples everywhere
for the sake of truth and in obedience to the Gospel,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the forgiveness of our sins:
for failure to love you with our whole heart and our neighbors as
ourselves,
that you will renew us as one body and one spirit in Christ,
that we may worthily serve the world in his name,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
In thanksgiving for your blessings:
for the challenges and op****tunities you give us
to grow in understanding and cooperaton in your Chuch,
that as many members of one body
we may continually be transformed into the likeness of Christ Jesus,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
In hope for the future,
that you will raise up godly leaders,
grant us a clear vision,
and give us both abiding trust and steadfast hearts for the days to
come,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Bountiful and loving God,
we give you thanks for your holy Catholic Church,
for the light of the faith shared by generations past
and for the love which you have shown for the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one,
let us pray as our Savior has taught us.
- The Lord's Prayer
Savior,
send us to earth's ends with water and words
and startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic Name. Amen.
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The psalms are from Celebrating Common Prayer (Mowbray), =A9 The Society
of Saint Francis 1992, which is used with permission.
The canticle is from Common Wor****p: Daily Prayer, Preliminary
Edition, copyright =A9 The Archbishops' Council, 2002.
The biblical passage is from The New Revised Standard Version
(Anglicized Edition), copyright =A9 1989, 1995 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The opening prayer of thanksgiving is adapted from a prayer by Philip
Newell and the closing sentence is adapted from Revised Common
Lectionary Prayers, copyright =A9 2002 Consultation on Common Texts.
http://oremus.org/oremus.cgi?f
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