Morning Prayer - August 5, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 72:1-20

Judges 3:12-30

Acts 1:1-14

Matthew 27:45-54

Ordinary Time
I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.' Psalm 122:1

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

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

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

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 72

⁽¹⁾ Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son.⁽²⁾ He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice.⁽³⁾ The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness.⁽⁴⁾ He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

⁽⁵⁾ They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations.⁽⁶⁾ He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.⁽⁷⁾ In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.⁽⁸⁾ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁽⁹⁾ Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.⁽¹⁰⁾ The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts.⁽¹¹⁾ Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.⁽¹²⁾ For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.

⁽¹³⁾ He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy.⁽¹⁴⁾ He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight.⁽¹⁵⁾ And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised.⁽¹⁶⁾ There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

⁽¹⁷⁾ His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.⁽¹⁸⁾ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things!⁽¹⁹⁾ And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.⁽²⁰⁾ The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

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.

Judges Chapter 3

⁽¹²⁾ And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.⁽¹³⁾ Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession of the City of Palms.⁽¹⁴⁾ So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.⁽¹⁵⁾ But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.⁽¹⁷⁾ So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)⁽¹⁸⁾ And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.⁽¹⁹⁾ But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, 'I have a secret message for you, O king.' He said, 'Keep silence!' And all who attended him went out from him.

⁽²⁰⁾ And Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, 'I have a message from God for you.' So he arose from his seat.⁽²¹⁾ Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.⁽²²⁾ Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.⁽²³⁾ Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

⁽²⁴⁾ When he had gone out, Eglon's servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, 'He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.'⁽²⁵⁾ So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.⁽²⁶⁾ But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.⁽²⁷⁾ And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.

⁽²⁸⁾ Then he said to them, 'Follow me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.' So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.⁽²⁹⁾ And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.⁽³⁰⁾ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,⁽²⁾ until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,⁽³⁾ to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.⁽⁴⁾ And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me;

⁽⁵⁾ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'⁽⁶⁾ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'⁽⁷⁾ And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.⁽⁸⁾ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'

⁽⁹⁾ Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.⁽¹⁰⁾ And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,⁽¹¹⁾ who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'⁽¹²⁾ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.

⁽¹³⁾ And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.⁽¹⁴⁾ These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 27

⁽⁴⁵⁾ Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.⁽⁴⁶⁾ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'⁽⁴⁷⁾ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, 'This Man is calling for Elijah!'⁽⁴⁸⁾ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

⁽⁴⁹⁾ The rest said, 'Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.'⁽⁵⁰⁾ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.⁽⁵¹⁾ Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,⁽⁵²⁾ and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

⁽⁵³⁾ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.⁽⁵⁴⁾ So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Glory to God
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. 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

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Proper 12 The Sunday closest to July 27
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory, and, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

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

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21