Morning Prayer - February 5, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 72:1-20

Isaiah 54:1-17

Galatians 4:21-31

Mark 8:11-26

Epiphany
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6b

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 Lord has shown forth his glory: 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.

Isaiah Chapter 54

⁽¹⁾ Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,' says the LORD.⁽²⁾ Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.⁽³⁾ For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited.⁽⁴⁾ Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

⁽⁵⁾ For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.⁽⁶⁾ For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,' Says your God.⁽⁷⁾ For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you.⁽⁸⁾ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,' Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

⁽⁹⁾ For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.⁽¹⁰⁾ For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.⁽¹¹⁾ O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires.⁽¹²⁾ I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones.

⁽¹³⁾ All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.⁽¹⁴⁾ In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.⁽¹⁵⁾ Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.⁽¹⁶⁾ Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

⁽¹⁷⁾ No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,' Says the LORD.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Galatians Chapter 4

⁽²¹⁾ Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?⁽²²⁾ For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.⁽²³⁾ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,⁽²⁴⁾ which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar --

⁽²⁵⁾ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children --⁽²⁶⁾ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.⁽²⁷⁾ For it is written: 'Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.'⁽²⁸⁾ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

⁽²⁹⁾ But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.⁽³⁰⁾ Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.'⁽³¹⁾ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 8

⁽¹¹⁾ Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.⁽¹²⁾ But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, 'Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.'⁽¹³⁾ And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.⁽¹⁴⁾ Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Then He charged them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.'⁽¹⁶⁾ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have no bread.'⁽¹⁷⁾ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?⁽¹⁸⁾ Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

⁽¹⁹⁾ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?' They said to Him, 'Twelve.'⁽²⁰⁾ Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?' And they said, 'Seven.'⁽²¹⁾ So He said to them, 'How is it you do not understand?'⁽²²⁾ Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

⁽²³⁾ So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.⁽²⁴⁾ And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.'⁽²⁵⁾ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.⁽²⁶⁾ Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.'

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: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; 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