Australian Daily Prayer

4th Thursday of Easter

1
This is the message we have heard from Christ:
that God is light, in whom there is
no darkness at all
1 John 1:5
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 God's Herald
Go up to a high mountain
herald of good tiding to Zion:
lift up your voice with strength,
herald of good tidings to Jerusalem.

Lift up your voice, fear not:
say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'
See the Lord God, coming with power:
coming to rule with his mighty arm.
He brings his reward for the people of God:
the recompense for those who are saved.
God will feed his flock like a shepherd:
and gather the lambs in his arms;
He will hold them to his breast:
and gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:9-11
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  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 
   his mercy endures for ever.
2  Let Israel now proclaim, 
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
3  Let the house of Aaron now proclaim, 
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
4  Let those who fear the Lord proclaim, 
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
5  In my constraint I called to the Lord; 
   the Lord answered and set me free.
6  The Lord is at my side; I will not fear; 
   what can flesh do to me?
7  With the Lord at my side as my saviour, 
   I shall see the downfall of my enemies.
8  It is better to take refuge in the Lord 
   than to put any confidence in flesh.
9  It is better to take refuge in the Lord 
   than to put any confidence in princes.
10  All the nations encompassed me, 
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
11  They hemmed me in, they hemmed me in on every side, 
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
12  They swarmed about me like bees;
      they blazed like fire among thorns, 
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
13  Surely, I was thrust to the brink, 
   but the Lord came to my help.
14  The Lord is my strength and my song, 
   and he has become my salvation.
15  Joyful shouts of salvation 
   sound from the tents of the righteous:
16  ‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;
      the right hand of the Lord raises up; 
   the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’
17  I shall not die, but live 
   and declare the works of the Lord.
18  The Lord has punished me sorely, 
   but he has not given me over to death.
19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, 
   that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20  This is the gate of the Lord; 
   the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me 
   and have become my salvation.
22  The stone which the builders rejected 
   has become the chief cornerstone.
23  This is the Lord’s doing, 
   and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24  This is the day that the Lord has made; 
   we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25  Come, O Lord, and save us we pray. 
   Come, Lord, send us now prosperity.
26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; 
   we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27  The Lord is God; he has given us light; 
   link the pilgrims with cords
      right to the horns of the altar.
28  You are my God and I will thank you; 
   you are my God and I will exalt you.
29  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 
   his mercy endures for ever.
5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow
Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us in your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share our human nature, so we may be partakers in his divine glory; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed

Exodus 34:1–10 (Listen)

Moses Makes New Tablets

34:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands,1 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

Footnotes

[1] 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation

(ESV)

Luke 4:1–13 (Listen)

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

  “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

  “‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you,’

11 and

  “‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

(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 Hymn of the Word
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God,
And the Word was God:
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him:
and without him, was not anything made that was made.
In him was life:
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness:
and the darkness has not overcome it.
He was in the world:
and the world was made through him
yet the world knew him not.

He came to his own home:
and his own people received him not.
But to all who received him who believed on his name:
he has given power to become children of God;
Who were born not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh:
nor of the will of a man but of God,
And the Word became flesh:
and dwelt among us full of grace and truth;
We have beheld his glory:
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
And from his fullness have we all received:
the grace upon grace.
John 1:1-5, 10-14, 16
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 God of peace equip us with everything good so that we may do his will; and may he work in us that which is pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
see Hebrews 13:20-21
1
The Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give God the glory.
Revelation 19:6-7
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
2 The Opening Canticle, A Song for Joy
Be joyful in the Lord, all the earth:
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God:
it is he who has made us, and we are his;
for we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise:
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good;
his loving-kindness is everlasting:
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Psalm 100
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  Sing merrily to God our strength, 
   shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
2  Take up the song and sound the timbrel, 
   the tuneful lyre with the harp.
3  Blow the trumpet at the new moon, 
   as at the full moon, upon our solemn feast day.
4  For this is a statute for Israel, 
   a law of the God of Jacob,
5  The charge he laid on the people of Joseph, 
   when they came out of the land of Egypt.
6  I heard a voice I did not know, that said: 
   ‘I eased their shoulder from the burden;
      their hands were set free from bearing the load.
7  ‘You called upon me in trouble and I delivered you; 
   I answered you from the secret place of thunder
      and proved you at the waters of Meribah.
8  ‘Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: 
   O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9  ‘There shall be no strange god among you; 
   you shall not worship a foreign god.
10  ‘I am the Lord your God,
      who brought you up from the land of Egypt; 
   open your mouth wide and I shall fill it.’
11  But my people would not hear my voice 
   and Israel would not obey me.
12  So I sent them away in the stubbornness of their hearts, 
   and let them walk after their own counsels.
13  O that my people would listen to me, 
   that Israel would walk in my ways!
14  Then I should soon put down their enemies 
   and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15  Those who hate the Lord would be humbled before him, 
   and their punishment would last for ever.
16  But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat 
   and with honey from the rock would I satisfy them.
1  Lord, you were gracious to your land; 
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2  You forgave the offence of your people 
   and covered all their sins.
3  You laid aside all your fury 
   and turned from your wrathful indignation.
4  Restore us again, O God our Saviour, 
   and let your anger cease from us.
5  Will you be displeased with us for ever? 
   Will you stretch out your wrath from one generation to another?
6  Will you not give us life again, 
   that your people may rejoice in you?
7  Show us your mercy, O Lord, 
   and grant us your salvation.
8  I will listen to what the Lord God will say, 
   for he shall speak peace to his people and to the faithful,
      that they turn not again to folly.
9  Truly, his salvation is near to those who fear him, 
   that his glory may dwell in our land.
10  Mercy and truth are met together, 
   righteousness and peace have kissed each other;
11  Truth shall spring up from the earth 
   and righteousness look down from heaven.
12  The Lord will indeed give all that is good, 
   and our land will yield its increase.
13  Righteousness shall go before him 
   and direct his steps in the way.
5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow
God our Saviour, you sent Jesus into the world of sin, and delivered him up to death for us: kindle in our hearts the same love with which he loved his own to the end; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed

Deuteronomy 11:8–32 (Listen)

“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it,1 like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he2 will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.

18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to3 the Lebanon, and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.

26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak4 of Moreh? 31 For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.

Footnotes

[1] 11:10 Hebrew watered it with your feet
[2] 11:14 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew I; also verse 15
[3] 11:24 Hebrew and
[4] 11:30 Septuagint, Syriac; see Genesis 12:6. Hebrew oaks, or terebinths

(ESV)

Ephesians 5:15–33 (Listen)

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.1 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Footnotes

[1] 5:27 Or holy and blameless

(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 Song of Christ's Glory
Christ Jesus was in the form of God:
but he did not cling to equality with God.
He emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant:
and was born in our human likeness.
Being found in human form, he humbled himself:
and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him:
and bestowed on him the name above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow:
in heaven and on earth and under the earth;
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord:
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5b-11
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
Be present, merciful God, and protect us through the hours of the night: that we, who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may rest on your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
12
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14