Advent
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Absolution
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter

O God make speed to save us, O Lord make haste to help us

O Gracious Light,
pure brightness of everliving Father in heaven
O Jesus Christ holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun
and our eyes behold the vesper light
we sing your praises O God: Father Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices
O Son of God, O Giver of Life
and to be glorified through all worlds.
Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

?The Psalms are unique for the evening, the other lessions can be read in total or those you have not included in Morning Prayer

The Lessons

Psalm 10

⁽¹⁾ Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? ⁽²⁾ The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. ⁽³⁾ For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD. ⁽⁴⁾ The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

⁽⁵⁾ His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. ⁽⁶⁾ He has said in his heart, 'I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.' ⁽⁷⁾ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. ⁽⁸⁾ He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

⁽⁹⁾ He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. ⁽¹⁰⁾ So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength. ⁽¹¹⁾ He has said in his heart, 'God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.' ⁽¹²⁾ Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

⁽¹³⁾ Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, 'You will not require an account.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none. ⁽¹⁶⁾ The LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land.

⁽¹⁷⁾ LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, ⁽¹⁸⁾ To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm 11

⁽¹⁾ In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, 'Flee as a bird to your mountain'? ⁽²⁾ For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. ⁽³⁾ If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? ⁽⁴⁾ The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

⁽⁵⁾ The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. ⁽⁶⁾ Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup. ⁽⁷⁾ For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Isaiah Chapter 1

⁽²¹⁾ How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. ⁽²²⁾ Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. ⁽²³⁾ Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them. ⁽²⁴⁾ Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, 'Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.

⁽²⁵⁾ I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. ⁽²⁶⁾ I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.' ⁽²⁷⁾ Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. ⁽²⁸⁾ The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

⁽²⁹⁾ For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen. ⁽³⁰⁾ For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water. ⁽³¹⁾ The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Thessalonians Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. ⁽²⁾ But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. ⁽³⁾ For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. ⁽⁴⁾ But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

⁽⁵⁾ For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness -- God is witness. ⁽⁶⁾ Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. ⁽⁷⁾ But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. ⁽⁸⁾ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

⁽⁹⁾ For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; ⁽¹¹⁾ as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, ⁽¹²⁾ that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 20

⁽⁹⁾ Then He began to tell the people this parable: 'A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁽¹¹⁾ Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁽¹²⁾ And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

⁽¹³⁾ Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ⁽¹⁶⁾ He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.' And when they heard it they said, 'Certainly not!'

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then He looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone'? ⁽¹⁸⁾ Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

?A canticle is a hymn, or other Christian song of praise with lyrics taken from biblical texts

The Canticles

The Second Song of Isaiah       Quaerite Dominum Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.




The Song of Mary       Magnificat Luke 1:46-55  
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor 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.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
  He descended to the dead.
  On the third day he rose again.
  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
  He will come again 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.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages     A

Seasonal Collect:  First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with following
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13



This concludes the Daily Morning Prayer
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord