Australian Daily Prayer

8th Saturday after Trinity

1
God has shone in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
2 Corinthians 4:6
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
2 The Opening Canticle, A Song of Creation
Bless the Lord all created things:
who is worth to be praised and exalted for ever.
Bless the Lord all people of the earth:
who is worth to be praised and exalted for ever.
O people of God bless the Lord:
bless the Lord you priests of the Lord,
Bless the Lord you servants of the Lord:
who is worthy to be praised and exalted for ever.
Bless the Lord all you of upright spirit:
bless the Lord you that are holy and humble in heart.
Bless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit:
who is worthy to be praised and exalted for ever.
Song of the Three 35ff
3 The Opening Prayer
The night has passed and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence may be 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. Amen.
4 The Psalms as appointed. A pause is observed after each.
1  Blessed are those who consider the poor and needy; 
   the Lord will deliver them in the time of trouble.
2  The Lord preserves them and restores their life,
      that they may be happy in the land; 
   he will not hand them over to the will of their enemies.
3  The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; 
   their sickness, Lord, you will remove.
4  And so I said, ‘Lord, be merciful to me; 
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.’
5  My enemies speak evil about me, 
   asking when I shall die and my name perish.
6  If they come to see me, they utter empty words; 
   their heart gathers mischief;
      when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7  All my enemies whisper together against me, 
   against me they devise evil,
8  Saying that a deadly thing has laid hold on me, 
   and that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9  Even my bosom friend, whom I trusted,
      who ate of my bread, 
   has lifted up his heel against me.
10  But you, O Lord, be merciful to me 
   and raise me up, that I may reward them.
11  By this I know that you favour me, 
   that my enemy does not triumph over me.
12  Because of my integrity you uphold me 
   and will set me before your face for ever.
13  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, 
   from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
1  As the deer longs for the water brooks, 
   so longs my soul for you, O God.
2  My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; 
   when shall I come before the presence of God?
3  My tears have been my bread day and night, 
   while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
4  Now when I think on these things, I pour out my soul: 
   how I went with the multitude
      and led the procession to the house of God,
5  With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, 
   among those who kept holy day.
6  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, 
   and why are you so disquieted within me?
7  O put your trust in God; 
   for I will yet give him thanks,
      who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
8  My soul is heavy within me; 
   therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
      and from Hermon and the hill of Mizar.
9  Deep calls to deep in the thunder of your waterfalls; 
   all your breakers and waves have gone over me.
10  The Lord will grant his loving-kindness in the daytime; 
   through the night his song will be with me,
      a prayer to the God of my life.
11  I say to God my rock,
      ‘Why have you forgotten me, 
   and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?’
12  As they crush my bones, my enemies mock me; 
   while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
13  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, 
   and why are you so disquieted within me?
14  O put your trust in God; 
   for I will yet give him thanks,
      who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
1  Give judgement for me, O God,
      and defend my cause against an ungodly people; 
   deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
2  For you are the God of my refuge;
      why have you cast me from you, 
   and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?
3  O send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, 
   and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling,
4  That I may go to the altar of God,
      to the God of my joy and gladness; 
   and on the lyre I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
5  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, 
   and why are you so disquieted within me?
6  O put your trust in God; 
   for I will yet give him thanks,
      who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow
Creator God, whose praise and power are proclaimed by the whole creation: receive our morning prayers, we pray, and renew us in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed

1 Samuel 13:19–14:15 (Listen)

19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,1 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel2 for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel3 for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.4 22 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14:1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave5 at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

Jonathan said to the young man who carried 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 can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.6 Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre7 of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.8

Footnotes

[1] 13:20 Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare
[2] 13:21 Hebrew was a pim
[3] 13:21 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[4] 13:21 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
[5] 14:2 Or under the pomegranate [tree]
[6] 14:7 Septuagint Do all that your mind inclines to
[7] 14:14 Hebrew a yoke
[8] 14:15 Or became a panic from God

(ESV)

Luke 23:1–12 (Listen)

Jesus Before Pilate

23:1 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

Jesus Before Herod

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

(ESV)

The reading may be followed by a period of silence for reflection, a hymn or
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
7 The Canticle, A Song of Redemption
Christ is the image of the invisible God:
the first-born of all creation.
For in him all things were created:
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
All things were created through him and for him:
his is before all things
and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the Church:
he is the beginning, the first-born form the dead.
For it pleases God that in him
all fullness should dwell:
and through him all things be reconciled to himself.
Colossians 1:15-20
8 The Apostles' Creed may be said
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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.
9 The Prayers
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy Lord have mercy.
10 The Lord's Prayer and the Collect of the Day
Our 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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
11 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need.
12 The Morning Collect
Lord and heavenly Father, you have brought us safely to this new day: keep us by your mighty power, protect us from sin, guard us from every kind of danger, and in all we do this day direct us in the fulfilling of your purpose, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
13
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Philippians 4:7
1
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:2
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
2 The Opening Canticle, A Song of the Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd:
therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall make me lie down in green pastures:
and lead me beside still waters.
He shall refresh my soul:
and guide me in right pathways for his name's sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for you are with me,
your rod and your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence
of those who trouble me:
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup shall be full.

Surely your goodness and loving-kindness
shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23
3 The Opening Prayer
The day is now passed and the night is at hand.
Let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence may be kept
Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you as our evening sacrifice; make us a light for all the world, delivered by your goodness from all the works of darkness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
4 The Psalms as appointed. A pause is observed after each
1  My heart is astir with gracious words; 
   as I make my song for the king,
      my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2  You are the fairest of men; 
   full of grace are your lips,
      for God has blest you for ever.
3  Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one; 
   gird on your majesty and glory.
4  Ride on and prosper in the cause of truth 
   and for the sake of humility and righteousness.
5  Your right hand will teach you terrible things; 
   your arrows will be sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies,
      so that peoples fall beneath you.
6  Your throne is God’s throne, for ever; 
   the sceptre of your kingdom is the sceptre of righteousness.
7  You love righteousness and hate iniquity; 
   therefore God, your God, has anointed you
      with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
8  All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; 
   from ivory palaces the music of strings makes you glad.
9  Kings’ daughters are among your honourable women; 
   at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10  Hear, O daughter; consider and incline your ear; 
   forget your own people and your father’s house.
11  So shall the king have pleasure in your beauty; 
   he is your lord, so do him honour.
12  The people of Tyre shall bring you gifts; 
   the richest of the people shall seek your favour.
13  The king’s daughter is all glorious within; 
   her clothing is embroidered cloth of gold.
14  She shall be brought to the king in raiment of needlework; 
   after her the virgins that are her companions.
15  With joy and gladness shall they be brought 
   and enter into the palace of the king.
16  ‘Instead of your fathers you shall have sons, 
   whom you shall make princes over all the land.
17  ‘I will make your name to be remembered through all generations; 
   therefore shall the peoples praise you for ever and ever.’
1  God is our refuge and strength, 
   a very present help in trouble;
2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, 
   and though the mountains tremble in the heart of the sea;
3  Though the waters rage and swell, 
   and though the mountains quake at the towering seas.
4  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 
   the holy place of the dwelling of the Most High.
5  God is in the midst of her;
      therefore shall she not be removed; 
   God shall help her at the break of day.
6  The nations are in uproar and the kingdoms are shaken, 
   but God utters his voice and the earth shall melt away.
7  The Lord of hosts is with us; 
   the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
8  Come and behold the works of the Lord, 
   what destruction he has wrought upon the earth.
9  He makes wars to cease in all the world; 
   he shatters the bow and snaps the spear
      and burns the chariots in the fire.
10  ‘Be still, and know that I am God; 
   I will be exalted among the nations;
      I will be exalted in the earth.’
11  The Lord of hosts is with us; 
   the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow
Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father's glory: send your light and your truth that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.
6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed

Jeremiah 31:1–22 (Listen)

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31:1 “At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

  Thus says the LORD:
  “The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness;
  when Israel sought for rest,
    the LORD appeared to him1 from far away.
  I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
  Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
    O virgin Israel!
  Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
    and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
  Again you shall plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria;
  the planters shall plant
    and shall enjoy the fruit.
  For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
    in the hill country of Ephraim:
  ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the LORD our God.’”
  For thus says the LORD:
  “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
  proclaim, give praise, and say,
    ‘O LORD, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
  Behold, I will bring them from the north country
    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
  among them the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
  With weeping they shall come,
    and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
  I will make them walk by brooks of water,
    in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
  for I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10   “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
  say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
    and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11   For the LORD has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12   They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
  over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
  their life shall be like a watered garden,
    and they shall languish no more.
13   Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
  I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14   I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
      declares the LORD.”
15   Thus says the LORD:
  “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
  Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    because they are no more.”
16   Thus says the LORD:
  “Keep your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears,
  for there is a reward for your work,
      declares the LORD,
    and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17   There is hope for your future,
      declares the LORD,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
18   I have heard Ephraim grieving,
  ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
  bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the LORD my God.
19   For after I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;
  I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20   Is Ephraim my dear son?
    Is he my darling child?
  For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
  Therefore my heart2 yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
      declares the LORD.
21   “Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts;
  consider well the highway,
    the road by which you went.
  Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities.
22   How long will you waver,
    O faithless daughter?
  For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth:
    a woman encircles a man.”

Footnotes

[1] 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me
[2] 31:20 Hebrew bowels

(ESV)

James 1:12–27 (Listen)

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.1 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Footnotes

[1] 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning

(ESV)

The reading may be followed by a period of silence for reflection, a hymn or
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
7 The Canticle, the Easter Anthems
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us:
so let us celebrate the feast,
Now with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness:
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Christ once raised from the dead dies no more:
death has no more dominion over him.
In dying, he died to sin once for all:
in living, he lives to God.
See yourselves, therefor, as dead to sin:
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Christ has been raised from the dead:
the first fruits of those who sleep.
For since by one man came death:
by another has come also the resurrection of the dead,
For as in Adam all die:
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
8 The Prayers
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy Lord have mercy.
9 The Lord's Prayer and the Collect of the Day
Our 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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
10 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need.
11 The Evening Collect
Come to visit us, Lord this night, so that by your strength we may rise at daybreak to rejoice in the resurrection of Christ your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
12
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.
see Revelation 22:13