23rd March 2025 Morning Prayer

The Psalter

Psalm 25

Ad te, Domine, levavi

UNTO thee, O LORD, will I lift up my soul; my God, I have put my trust in thee: * O let me not be confounded, neither let mine enemies triumph over me.

For all they that hope in thee shall not be ashamed; * but such as transgress without a cause shall be put to confusion.

Show me thy ways, O LORD, * and teach me thy paths.

Lead me forth in thy truth, and learn me: * for thou art the God of my salvation; in thee hath been my hope all the day long.

Call to remembrance, O LORD, thy tender mercies, * and thy loving-kindnesses, which have been ever of old.

O remember not the sins and offences of my youth; * but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O LORD, for thy goodness.

Gracious and righteous is the LORD; * therefore, will he teach sinners in the way.

Them that are meek shall he guide in judgment; * and such as are gentle, them shall he learn his way.

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, * unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For thy Name's sake, O LORD, * be merciful unto my sin; for it is great.

What man is he that feareth the LORD? * him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

His soul shall dwell at ease, * and his seed shall inherit the land.

The secret of the LORD is among them that fear him; * and he will show them his covenant.

Mine eyes are ever looking unto the LORD; * for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; * for I am desolate, and in misery.

The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: * O bring thou me out of my troubles.

Look upon my adversity and misery, * and forgive me all my sin.

Consider mine enemies, how many they are; * and they bear a tyrannous hate against me.

O keep my soul, and deliver me: * let me not be confounded, for I have put my trust in thee.

Let perfectness and righteous dealing wait upon me; * for my hope hath been in thee.

Deliver Israel, O God, * out of all his troubles.

The First Lesson

Deut6:1-9

6 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

The Second Lesson

1Cor3:1-23

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;

Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's;

And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

The Third Sunday in Lent

We beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.