Peace to those who are far off.
Peace to those who are near.
Ephesians 2.17
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
A poem: The Song of Mary (Magnificat)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord:
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
Who has looked with favour on his lowly servant:
from this day all generations will call me blessed;
The Almighty has done great things for me:
and holy is his name.
God has mercy on those who fear him:
from generation to generation.
The Lord has shown strength with his arm:
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones:
and lifting up the lowly.
God has filled the hungry with good things:
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel:
to remember the promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears:
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Luke 1.46-55
The opening prayer
By night and by day we worship the Lord; let us pray with one heart and mind.
We remember God’s presence and pause in silence.
Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you as our daily 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.
The readings
2 Kings 19.9-11, 14-21a, 31-36
When the king heard concerning King Tirhakah of Ethiopia, ‘See, he has set out to fight against you’, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus shall you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered?
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: ‘O LORD the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have hurled their gods into the fire, though they were no gods but the work of human hands – wood and stone – and so they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.’
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:
She despises you, she scorns you –
virgin daughter Zion;
she tosses her head – behind your back,
daughter Jerusalem.
for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, shoot an arrow there, come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege-ramp against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return; he shall not come into this city, says the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.’
That very night the angel of the LORD set out and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left, went home, and lived at Nineveh.
Psalm 48.1-2, 8-end
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is fair and lifted high,
the joy of all the earth.
As we had heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, the city of our God:
God has established her for ever.
We have waited on your loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
As with your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is full of justice.
Let Mount Zion rejoice and the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of your judgements, O Lord.
Walk about Zion and go round about her; count all her towers;
consider well her bulwarks; pass through her citadels,
That you may tell those who come after that such is our God for ever and ever.
It is he that shall be our guide for evermore.
Matthew 7.6, 12-14
‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer (traditional)
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, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
This week’s prayer:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray,
and give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask,
save through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ,
your Son our Lord. Amen.
We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.
Today we pray for ourselves, that God would give us wisdom to know what is right and strength and grace to pursue it. In our local church, we ask God to care for the young people in our church. In our world, we pray for all who serve in the courts and the justice system. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.
A prayer for the day
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as the Lord;
all creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Amen.
The Lord be with us
now and forever.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith Amen.
Hebrews 12.1