Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

after Lancelot Andrewes (1626)

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of God’s Blessing

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 143

Refrain: Show me, O Lord, the way that I should walk in.

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and in your faithfulness give ear to my supplications; ♦
answer me in your righteousness.

2 Enter not into judgement with your servant, ♦
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.

3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground, ♦
making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4 My spirit faints within me; ♦
my heart within me is desolate. R

5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; ♦
I consider the works of your hands.

6 I stretch out my hands to you; ♦
my soul gasps for you like a thirsty land.

7 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; ♦
hide not your face from me
lest I be like those who go down to the Pit.

8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for in you I put my trust; ♦
show me the way I should walk in,
for I lift up my soul to you. R

9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies, ♦
for I flee to you for refuge.

10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; ♦
let your kindly spirit lead me on a level path.

11 Revive me, O Lord, for your name’s sake; ♦
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.

12 In your faithfulness, slay my enemies,
and destroy all the adversaries of my soul, ♦
for truly I am your servant.

Refrain: Show me, O Lord, the way that I should walk in.

Jesus, our companion,
when we are driven to despair,
help us, through the friends and strangers
we encounter on our path,
to know you as our refuge,
our way, our truth and our life.

Psalm 146

Refrain: The Lord shall reign for ever.

1 Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul:
while I live will I praise the Lord; ♦
as long as I have any being,
I will sing praises to my God.

2 Put not your trust in princes,
nor in any human power, ♦
for there is no help in them.

3 When their breath goes forth, they return to the earth; ♦
on that day all their thoughts perish. R

4 Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, ♦
whose hope is in the Lord their God;

5 Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them; ♦
who keeps his promise for ever;

6 Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong ♦
and bread to those who hunger. R

7 The Lord looses those that are bound; ♦
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

8 The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; ♦
the Lord loves the righteous;

9 The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;
he upholds the orphan and widow; ♦
but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign for ever, ♦
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Alleluia.

Refrain: The Lord shall reign for ever.

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign for evermore.

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.

2 Kings 23.36 - 24.17

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as all his ancestors had done.

In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. The Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to pardon. Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father had done.

At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.

He carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the Lord had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained, except the poorest people of the land. He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valour, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Canticle

A Song of the Covenant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 44 (page 596), may be said

Refrain:

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

1Thus says God, who created the heavens, ♦
who fashioned the earth and all that dwells in it;

2Who gives breath to the people upon it ♦
and spirit to those who walk in it,

3 ‘I am the Lord and I have called you in righteousness, ♦
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

4 ‘I have given you as a covenant to the people, ♦
a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,

5‘To bring out the captives from the dungeon, ♦
from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

6‘I am the Lord, that is my name; ♦
my glory I give to no other.’

Isaiah 42.5-8a

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.

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

1 Timothy 4

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe.

These are the things you must insist on and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
AllI have called you by name; you are mine.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.

from Isaiah 43

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God's Glory) (page 635) may be said

Refrain

AllYou promised, O God, to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.

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

AllYou promised, O God, to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.

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 362–363

¶ Local government, community leaders
¶ All who provide local services
¶ Those who work with young or elderly people
¶ Schools, colleges and universities
¶ Emergency and rescue organizations

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 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

God, the giver of life,
whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:
by the Spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ
      and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
      the joys of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

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)

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

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
AllAmen.

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