Morning Prayer

Advent
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3

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.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 40

⁽¹⁾ I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. ⁽²⁾ He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. ⁽³⁾ He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. ⁽⁴⁾ Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

⁽⁵⁾ Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. ⁽⁶⁾ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. ⁽⁷⁾ Then I said, 'Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. ⁽⁸⁾ I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.'

⁽⁹⁾ I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know. ⁽¹⁰⁾ I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. ⁽¹¹⁾ Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. ⁽¹²⁾ For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me.

⁽¹³⁾ Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me! ⁽¹⁴⁾ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Let them be confounded because of their shame, Who say to me, 'Aha, aha!' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, 'The LORD be magnified!'

⁽¹⁷⁾ But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.

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 54

⁽¹⁾ Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength. ⁽²⁾ Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. ⁽³⁾ For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah ⁽⁴⁾ Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

⁽⁵⁾ He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. ⁽⁶⁾ I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. ⁽⁷⁾ For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

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.

Zechariah Chapter 7

⁽⁸⁾ Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ⁽⁹⁾ Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.' ⁽¹¹⁾ But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

⁽¹²⁾ Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. ⁽¹³⁾ Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,' says the LORD of hosts. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.' ⁽¹⁾ Again the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, ⁽²⁾ Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.' ⁽³⁾ Thus says the LORD: 'I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.' ⁽⁴⁾ Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand Because of great age.

⁽⁵⁾ The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.' ⁽⁶⁾ Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?' Says the LORD of hosts. ⁽⁷⁾ Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west; ⁽⁸⁾ I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 5

⁽⁶⁾ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁽⁷⁾ Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. ⁽⁸⁾ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁽⁹⁾ And they sang a new song, saying: 'You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

⁽¹⁰⁾ And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.' ⁽¹¹⁾ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ⁽¹²⁾ saying with a loud voice: 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!' ⁽¹³⁾ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: 'Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!'

⁽¹⁴⁾ Then the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 25

⁽¹⁴⁾ For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

⁽¹⁸⁾ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. ⁽¹⁹⁾ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ⁽²⁰⁾ So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' ⁽²¹⁾ His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

⁽²²⁾ He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' ⁽²³⁾ His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' ⁽²⁴⁾ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ⁽²⁵⁾ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'

⁽²⁶⁾ But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ⁽²⁷⁾ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ⁽²⁸⁾ Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ⁽²⁹⁾ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

⁽³⁰⁾ And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.


The Third Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
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.


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:  Third Sunday of Advent
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through 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