Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Easter Season
Saturday, 26 April 2025
Saturday of Easter Week

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

In your resurrection, O Christ,
Alllet heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or the Easter Anthems

1Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us: ♦
so let us celebrate the feast,

2not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness: ♦
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8

3Christ once raised from the dead dies no more: ♦
death has no more dominion over him.

4In dying he died to sin once for all: ♦
in living he lives to God.

5See yourselves therefore as dead to sin: ♦
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6.9-11

6Christ has been raised from the dead: ♦
the first fruits of those who sleep.

7For as by man came death: ♦
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead;

8for as in Adam all die: ♦
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15.20-22

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 116

Refrain: Gracious is the Lord and righteous.

1 I love the Lord,
for he has heard the voice of my supplication; ♦
because he inclined his ear to me
on the day I called to him.

2 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pains of hell took hold of me; ♦
by grief and sorrow was I held.

3 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: ♦
‘O Lord, I beg you, deliver my soul.’

4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; ♦
our God is full of compassion. R

5 The Lord watches over the simple; ♦
I was brought very low and he saved me.

6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul, ♦
for the Lord has been gracious to you.

7 For you have delivered my soul from death, ♦
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.

8 I will walk before the Lord ♦
in the land of the living. R

9 I believed that I should perish
for I was sorely troubled; ♦
and I said in my alarm,
‘Everyone is a liar.’

10 How shall I repay the Lord ♦
for all the benefits he has given to me?

11 I will lift up the cup of salvation ♦
and call upon the name of the Lord.

12 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord ♦
in the presence of all his people. R

13 Precious in the sight of the Lord ♦
is the death of his faithful servants.

14 O Lord, I am your servant, ♦
your servant, the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.

15 I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving ♦
and call upon the name of the Lord.

16 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord ♦
in the presence of all his people,

17 In the courts of the house of the Lord, ♦
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Alleluia.

Refrain: Gracious is the Lord and righteous.

As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
may we call upon your name,
raise the cup of salvation,
and so proclaim your death, O Lord,
until you come in glory.

Psalm 150

Refrain: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

1 Alleluia.
O praise God in his holiness; ♦
praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts; ♦
praise him according to his excellent greatness. R

3 Praise him with the blast of the trumpet; ♦
praise him upon the harp and lyre.

4 Praise him with timbrel and dances; ♦
praise him upon the strings and pipe. R

5 Praise him with ringing cymbals; ♦
praise him upon the clashing cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath ♦
praise the Lord.
Alleluia.

Refrain: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

God of life and love,
whose Son was victorious over sin and death,
make us alive with his life,
that the whole world may resound with your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Song of Solomon 8.5-7

Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
   leaning upon her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labour with you;
   there she who bore you was in labour.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
   as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
   passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
   a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
   neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
   all the wealth of one’s house,
   it would be utterly scorned.

Canticle

The Song of Moses and Miriam, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 23 (page 574) or number 32 (page 583), may be said

Refrain:

AllIn your unfailing love, O Lord,
you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

1I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously, ♦
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2The Lord is my strength and my song ♦
and has become my salvation.

3This is my God whom I will praise, ♦
the God of my forebears whom I will exalt.

4The Lord is a warrior, ♦
the Lord is his name.

5Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power: ♦
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

6At the blast of your nostrils, the sea covered them; ♦
they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

7In your unfailing love, O Lord, ♦
you lead the people whom you have redeemed.

8And by your invincible strength ♦
you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

9You will bring them in and plant them, O Lord, ♦
in the sanctuary which your hands have established.

Exodus 15.1b-3, 6, 10, 13, 17

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllIn your unfailing love, O Lord,
you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

John 11.17-44

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Death is swallowed up in victory.
AllWhere, O death, is your sting?
Christ is risen from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
AllDeath is swallowed up in victory.
The trumpet will sound
and the dead shall be raised.
AllWhere, O death, is your sting?
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall be changed.
AllDeath is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your sting?

from 1 Corinthians 15

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or The Song of Christ’s Glory (page 619) may be said

Refrain:

AllThe Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllThe Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365

¶ The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
¶ God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
¶ Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
¶ Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
¶ Prisoners and captives

A form of prayer found on page 382 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.