Morning Prayer (Matins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Lent
Saturday, 21 February 2026

Preparation

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

Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
Allaccording to your judgement give us life.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or A Song of Penitence

1Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; ♦
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out my offences.

2Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness ♦
and cleanse me from my sin.

3For I acknowledge my faults ♦
and my sin is ever before me.

4Against you only have I sinned ♦
and done what is evil in your sight,

5So that you are justified in your sentence ♦
and righteous in your judgement.

6Cast me not away from your presence ♦
and take not your holy spirit from me.

7Give me again the joy of your salvation ♦
and sustain me with your gracious spirit;

8Then shall I teach your ways to the wicked ♦
and sinners shall return to you.

9Deliver me from my guilt, O God,
the God of my salvation, ♦
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.

Psalm 51.1-5, 12-15

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 71

Refrain: O God, be not far from me.

1 In you, O Lord, do I seek refuge; ♦
let me never be put to shame.

2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; ♦
incline your ear to me and save me.

3 Be for me a stronghold to which I may ever resort; ♦
send out to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, ♦
from the grasp of the evildoer and the oppressor.

5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, ♦
my confidence, even from my youth.

6 Upon you have I leaned from my birth,
when you drew me from my mother’s womb; ♦
my praise shall be always of you. R

7 I have become a portent to many, ♦
but you are my refuge and my strength.

8 Let my mouth be full of your praise ♦
and your glory all the day long.

9 Do not cast me away in the time of old age; ♦
forsake me not when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies are talking against me, ♦
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.

11 They say, ‘God has forsaken him;
pursue him and take him, ♦
because there is none to deliver him.’

12 O God, be not far from me; ♦
come quickly to help me, O my God.

13 Let those who are against me
be put to shame and disgrace; ♦
let those who seek to do me evil
be covered with scorn and reproach. R

14 But as for me I will hope continually ♦
and will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of your righteousness
and salvation all the day long, ♦
for I know no end of the telling.

16 I will begin with the mighty works of the Lord God; ♦
I will recall your righteousness, yours alone. R

17 O God, you have taught me since I was young, ♦
and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.

18 Forsake me not, O God,
when I am old and grey-headed, ♦
till I make known your deeds to the next generation
and your power to all that are to come.

19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens; ♦
in the great things you have done, who is like you, O God?

20 What troubles and adversities you have shown me, ♦
and yet you will turn and refresh me
and bring me from the deep of the earth again.

21 Increase my honour; ♦
turn again and comfort me. R

22 Therefore will I praise you upon the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God; ♦
I will sing to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will sing out as I play to you, ♦
and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.

24 My tongue also will tell of your righteousness all the day long, ♦
for they shall be shamed and disgraced
who sought to do me evil.

Refrain: O God, be not far from me.

Faithful Lord, living Saviour,
in youth and old age,
from the womb to the grave,
may we know your protection
and proclaim your great salvation
to the glory of God the Father.

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.

Genesis 41.1-24

After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows, and they grazed in the reed grass. Then seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And Pharaoh awoke. Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. Then seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them. The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and it was a dream. In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, ‘I remember my faults today. Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. We dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each according to his dream. As he interpreted to us, so it turned out; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.’

Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon. When he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ Joseph answered Pharaoh, ‘It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favourable answer.’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt. The thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows, but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke. I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk, and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouting after them; and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.’

Canticle

The Song of Manasseh, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 20 (page 570), number 33 (page 584) or number 41 (page 592), may be said

Refrain:

AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.

1Lord almighty and God of our ancestors, ♦
you who made heaven and earth in all their glory:

2All things tremble with awe at your presence, ♦
before your great and mighty power.

3Immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy, ♦
for you are God, Most High.

4You are full of compassion, long-suffering and very merciful, ♦
and you relent at human suffering.

5O God, according to your great goodness, ♦
you have promised forgiveness for repentance
to those who have sinned against you.

6The sins I have committed against you ♦
are more in number than the sands of the sea.

7I am not worthy to look up to the height of heaven, ♦
because of the multitude of my iniquities.

8And now I bend the knee of my heart before you, ♦
imploring your kindness upon me.

9I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, ♦
and I acknowledge my transgressions.

10Unworthy as I am, you will save me, ♦
according to your great mercy.

11For all the host of heaven sings your praise, ♦
and your glory is for ever and ever.

Manasseh 1a, 2, 4, 6, 7a, b, 9a, c, 11, 12, 14b, 15b

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.

AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Galatians 3.15-22

Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, ‘And to offsprings’, as of many; but it says, ‘And to your offspring’, that is, to one person, who is Christ. My point is this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

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

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
AllO my God, in you I trust.
You are the God of my salvation,
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
In you I hope all the day long.
AllO my God, in you I trust.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.

from Psalm 25

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

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:

AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

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

¶ Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
¶ Those serving through leadership
¶ Those looking for forgiveness
¶ Those misled by the false gods of this present age
¶ All who are hungry

A form of prayer found on page 380 may be used.

The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.

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

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
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

Trusting in the compassion of God,
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)

Trusting in the compassion of God,
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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
AllAmen.

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