Morning Prayer: Lent 1 - Set Me on Level Ground
The Call to Prayer
Alleluia! How good it is to praise our God! How pleasant and how fitting to sing God’s praise!
Psalm 147:1
The Request for Presence
In the morning bring me word of your constant love, for I lift my heart to you.
Psalm 143:8
The Greeting
Blessed are you, YHWH, my rock, ...my refuge and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust.
Psalm 144:1-2
The Hymn
Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens, Lord with me abide:
when other helpers fail and comforts flee,
help of the helpless, oh abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see:
O thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour;
what but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, oh abide with me.
I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight and tears no bitterness:
where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,
shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Henry Francis Lyte
PCC Hymn #794 Abide with me
The Refrain
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Isaiah 40:4
The Reading
Sometimes what we need is a sanctuary, a safe place. We find that in God’s presence. The Psalms talk about enemies, destruction, and miry bogs of woes. Life has its ups and downs, its struggles and trials. But God never leaves us or abandons us. When we seek God’s face, as the Psalms say, we enter into God’s presence and God lifts us up out of the mud and quicksand of life and sets us on a rock. In God’s presence we stand on level ground. There we can rest, rest in the hands of God.
Rev. Sarina Odden Meyer
The Refrain
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Isaiah 40:4
The Psalm
Unyielding, I called to you, YHWH. Now at last you have stooped to me and answered my cry for help.
You have pulled me out of the Pit of Destruction, out of its mud and quicksand; you set my feet on a rock and made my steps firm.
You put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to you. Many will look on in wonder and so will put their trust in you.
Happiness comes to those who put their trust in YHWH, instead of in human egos or people blind to the truth!
How many wonders you’ve worked for us; you have no equal! I want to recount them again and again, by their number is too great.
You don’t desire sacrifice or oblation, instead you made my ears receptive to you; you asked no burnt offering or sacrifice for sins from me.
And so I declared, “Here I am! I have come! In the scroll of the book it is written about me.”
I desire to do your will, my God, and your law is written on my heart.
I’ll proclaim your justice in the Great Assembly, and I won’t keep my mouth shut, as you well know.
I have never kept your generosity to myself, but announced your faithfulness and saving action; I have made no secret of your love and faithfulness in the Great Assembly.
For your part, YHWH, don’t withhold your love from me! Let your kindness and faithfulness constantly protect me!
Misfortunes surround me, far more than I can count; my sins entrap me and I am unable to escape. They outnumber the hairs on my head, and my courage is drained.
Hurry! Come to my rescue, YHWH! Be swift to help me!
Shame and confusion on all who are out to destroy me! Turn them back and heap disgrace on those who enjoy my misfortune!
May they be horrified at their shame, those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
May there be joy and gladness for all who seek you! May all who love your saving power have constant cause to say, “God is great!”
Now I am poor and needy. May YHWH think of me!
You are my helper and deliverer—come swiftly!
Psalm 40
The Refrain
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Isaiah 40:4
The Gloria
All glory to Almighty God
For love so deep, so high, so broad
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
15th c. Latin, translated by Benjamin Webb
PCC Hymn #205 O love, how deep, how broad, how high
The Lord’s Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Day
O Gracious God, at times it is hard to sense your presence with us. The troubles of life try to overcome us as waves overcome a ship in a storm. Yet, you are always there. Lift us up out of the storms, out of the miry bogs that try to drag us down. Set us on a firm rock with level ground under our feet. Help us to find a sanctuary in your presence, no matter what is happening all around us. Bless us with your strengthening presence so that we can bless others with your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.
R. Pynson (1514)