An Order Morning Prayer for
the First Sunday of Lent
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
according to your judgement give us life.
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.
Blessed be God for ever.
Hymn
1 Jesu, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the gath'ring waters roll,
while the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last.
2 Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
3 Plenteous grace with thee is found,
grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound,
make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art,
freely let me take of thee,
spring thou up within my heart,
rise to all eternity.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
.
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.
Amen.
Confession and self-reflection
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us
and restore us to the joy of your salvation,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Word of God
Genesis 9.8–17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’ God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’
Psalm 50.1–6
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies triumph over me.
2 Let none who look to you be put to shame,
but let the treacherous be shamed and frustrated.
3 Make me to know your ways, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
4 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you have I hoped all the day long.
5 Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
6 Remember not the sins of my youth
or my transgressions,
but think on me in your goodness, O Lord,
according to your steadfast love.
7 Gracious and upright is the Lord;
therefore shall he teach sinners in the way.
8 He will guide the humble in doing right
and teach his way to the lowly.
9 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Glory 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.
Mark 1.9–15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’
The Benedictus
Now bless the God of Israel who comes in love and power,
who raises from the royal house deliv’rance in this hour.
Through holy prophets God has sworn to free us from alarm,
to save us from the heavy hand of all who wish us harm.
Remembering the covenant, God rescues us from fear,
that we might serve in holiness and peace from year to year.
And you, my child, shall go before, to preach, to prophesy,
that all may know the tender love, the grace of God most high.
In tender mercy, God will send the dayspring from on high,
our rising sun, the light of life for those who sit and sigh.
God comes to guide our way to peace, that death shall reign no more.
Sing praises to the Holy One, O worship and adore.
To God the Father, fount of grace, through his beloved Son,
with God their Spirit, bond of love, be glory ever One.
Words: Ruth Duck
Reflection
Anthem
Drop, drop, slow tears – Gibbons
sung by St Martin’s Voices
Drop, drop, slow tears,
and bathe those beauteous feet
which brought from heaven
the news and Prince of Peace:
Cease not, wet eyes,
his mercy to entreat;
to cry for vengeance
sin doth never cease.
In your deep floods
drown all my faults and fears;
nor let His eye
see sin, but through my tears.
Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650).
Prayers
Which conclude with...
Collect for the First Sunday of Lent
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
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.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of God,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our 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.
Hymn
1 Forty days and forty nights
thou wast fasting in the wild;
forty days and forty nights
tempted, and yet undefiled.
2 Sunbeams scorching all the day;
chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
prowling beasts about thy way;
stones thy pillow, earth thy bed.
3 Let us thine endurance share,
and awhile from joys abstain,
with thee watching unto prayer,
strong with thee to suffer pain?
4 And if Satan, vexing sore,
flesh or spirit should assail,
thou, his vanquisher before
grant we may not faint nor fail.
5 So shall we have peace divine;
holier gladness ours shall be;
round us too shall angels shine,
such as ministered to thee.
6 Keep, O keep us, Saviour dear,
ever constant by thy side;
that with thee we may appear
at the eternal Eastertide.
George Hunt Smyttan (1822-1870), Francis Pott (1832-1909).
The Conclusion
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness, to deny yourselves,
take up your cross, and follow him;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.
Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide
