Morning Prayer - July 4, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 140:1-13

Psalm 142:1-7

1 Samuel 13:19-23,14:1-15

Acts 9:1-9

Luke 23:26-31

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.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 140

⁽¹⁾ Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men,⁽²⁾ Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war.⁽³⁾ They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah⁽⁴⁾ Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.

⁽⁵⁾ The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah⁽⁶⁾ I said to the LORD: 'You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.⁽⁷⁾ O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.⁽⁸⁾ Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah

⁽⁹⁾ As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them;⁽¹⁰⁾ Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.⁽¹¹⁾ Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.'⁽¹²⁾ I know that the LORD will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.

⁽¹³⁾ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

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 142

⁽¹⁾ I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication.⁽²⁾ I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.⁽³⁾ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me.⁽⁴⁾ Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.

⁽⁵⁾ I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.⁽⁶⁾ Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.⁽⁷⁾ Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.'

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.

1 Samuel Chapter 13

⁽¹⁹⁾ Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, 'Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.'⁽²⁰⁾ But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle;⁽²¹⁾ and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads.⁽²²⁾ So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

⁽²³⁾ And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.⁽¹⁾ Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side.' But he did not tell his father.⁽²⁾ And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.⁽³⁾ Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.⁽⁴⁾ Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

⁽⁵⁾ The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.⁽⁶⁾ Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.'⁽⁷⁾ So his armorbearer said to him, 'Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.'⁽⁸⁾ Then Jonathan said, 'Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them.

⁽⁹⁾ If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them.⁽¹⁰⁾ But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.'⁽¹¹⁾ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, 'Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.'⁽¹²⁾ Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, 'Come up to us, and we will show you something.' Jonathan said to his armorbearer, 'Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.'

⁽¹³⁾ And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them.⁽¹⁴⁾ That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.⁽¹⁵⁾ And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 9

⁽¹⁾ Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest⁽²⁾ and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.⁽³⁾ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.⁽⁴⁾ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

⁽⁵⁾ And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'⁽⁶⁾ So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'⁽⁷⁾ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.⁽⁸⁾ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁽⁹⁾ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 23

⁽²⁶⁾ Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.⁽²⁷⁾ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.⁽²⁸⁾ But Jesus, turning to them, said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.⁽²⁹⁾ For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'

⁽³⁰⁾ Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!' '⁽³¹⁾ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?'

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 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 8 The Sunday closest to June 29
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; 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: 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.

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

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