Morning Prayer

Ordinary Time
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter

Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
Glory 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   Alleluia

Venite
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

The earth is the Lord's for he made it: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 121

⁽¹⁾ I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- From whence comes my help? ⁽²⁾ My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. ⁽³⁾ He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. ⁽⁴⁾ Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁽⁵⁾ The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. ⁽⁶⁾ The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. ⁽⁷⁾ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. ⁽⁸⁾ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Glory 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 122

⁽¹⁾ I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.' ⁽²⁾ Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! ⁽³⁾ Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, ⁽⁴⁾ Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁽⁵⁾ For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. ⁽⁶⁾ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you. ⁽⁷⁾ Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.' ⁽⁸⁾ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, 'Peace be within you.'

⁽⁹⁾ Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

Glory 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 123

⁽¹⁾ Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. ⁽²⁾ Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. ⁽³⁾ Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁽⁴⁾ Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

Glory 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.

2 Samuel Chapter 18

⁽⁹⁾ Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, 'I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!' ⁽¹¹⁾ So Joab said to the man who told him, 'You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.' ⁽¹²⁾ But the man said to Joab, 'Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!'

⁽¹³⁾ Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then Joab said, 'I cannot linger with you.' And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him. ⁽¹⁶⁾ So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people.

⁽¹⁷⁾ And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King's Valley. For he said, 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.' He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 23

⁽¹²⁾ And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ⁽¹³⁾ Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy. ⁽¹⁴⁾ They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, 'We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.'

⁽¹⁶⁾ So when Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. ⁽¹⁷⁾ Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, 'Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, 'Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.' ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside and asked privately, 'What is it that you have to tell me?'

⁽²⁰⁾ And he said, 'The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. ⁽²¹⁾ But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.' ⁽²²⁾ So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, 'Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.' ⁽²³⁾ And he called for two centurions, saying, 'Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night;

⁽²⁴⁾ and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 11

⁽²⁷⁾ Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. ⁽²⁸⁾ And they said to Him, 'By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?' ⁽²⁹⁾ But Jesus answered and said to them, 'I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: ⁽³⁰⁾ The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.'

⁽³¹⁾ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' ⁽³²⁾ But if we say, 'From men' ' -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. ⁽³³⁾ So they answered and said to Jesus, 'We do not know.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.' ⁽¹⁾ Then He began to speak to them in parables: 'A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. ⁽²⁾ Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. ⁽³⁾ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁽⁴⁾ Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

⁽⁵⁾ And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. ⁽⁶⁾ Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ⁽⁷⁾ But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' ⁽⁸⁾ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁽⁹⁾ Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. ⁽¹¹⁾ This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?' ⁽¹²⁾ And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.



The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
  He descended to the dead.
  On the third day he rose again.
  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
  He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
  the holy catholic Church,
  the communion of saints,
  the forgiveness of sins,
  the resurrection of the body,
  and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Proper 15 The Sunday closest to August 17
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with the following
Let Us Bless the Lord, Thanks be to God

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13