Morning Prayer on Thursday — Thursday, 18 June 2026 — Bernard Mizeki, Apostle of the MaShona, Martyr, 1896 [Commemoration]

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

The Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day (page 108) may replace the Preparation as the start of Morning Prayer on any occasion.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

One of these prayers of thanksgiving (page 109),

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise for ever. You founded the earth in the beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives and your praises ever be on our lips. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Blessed be God for ever.

(or)

Blessed are you, creator of all, to you be praise and glory for ever. As your dawn renews the face of the earth bringing light and life to all creation, may we rejoice in this day you have made; as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep, open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will, that the world may rejoice and give you praise. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Blessed be God for ever.

after Lancelot Andrewes (1626)

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of God’s Blessing

1 God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,

2 That your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

4 O let the nations rejoice and be glad, for you will judge the peoples righteously and govern the nations upon earth.

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

6 Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, our own God, will bless us.

7 God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Psalm 67

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.

This opening prayer may be said

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.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 56

In God I trust, and will not fear.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, for they trample over me; all day long they assault and oppress me.

2 My adversaries trample over me all the day long; many are they that make proud war against me.

3 In the day of my fear I put my trust in you, in God whose word I praise.

4 In God I trust, and will not fear, for what can flesh do to me?

5 All day long they wound me with words; their every thought is to do me evil.

6 They stir up trouble; they lie in wait; marking my steps, they seek my life.

7 Shall they escape for all their wickedness? In anger, O God, cast the peoples down.

8 You have counted up my groaning; put my tears into your bottle; are they not written in your book?

9 Then shall my enemies turn back on the day when I call upon you; this I know, for God is on my side.

10 In God whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not fear: what can flesh do to me?

11 To you, O God, will I fulfil my vows; to you will I present my offerings of thanks,

12 For you will deliver my soul from death and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

In God I trust, and will not fear.

Faithful God, your deliverance is nearer than we know; free us from fear and help us to find courage in your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you;

2 In the shadow of your wings will I take refuge until the storm of destruction has passed by.

3 I will call upon the Most High God, the God who fulfils his purpose for me.

4 He will send from heaven and save me and rebuke those that would trample upon me; God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

5 I lie in the midst of lions, people whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory over all the earth.

7 They have laid a net for my feet; my soul is pressed down; they have dug a pit before me and will fall into it themselves.

8 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing and give you praise.

9 Awake, my soul; awake, harp and lyre, that I may awaken the dawn.

10 I will give you thanks, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praise to you among the nations.

11 For your loving-kindness is as high as the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

12 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory over all the earth.

Tender God, gentle protector in time of trouble, pierce the gloom of despair and give us, with all your people, the song of freedom and the shout of praise; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm (63*)

My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul is athirst for you.

2 My flesh also faints for you, as in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

3 So would I gaze upon you in your holy place, that I might behold your power and your glory.

4 Your loving-kindness is better than life itself and so my lips shall praise you.

5 I will bless you as long as I live and lift up my hands in your name.

6 My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

7 When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

8 For you have been my helper and under the shadow of your wings will I rejoice.

9 My soul clings to you; your right hand shall hold me fast.

10 But those who seek my soul to destroy it shall go down to the depths of the earth;

11 Let them fall by the edge of the sword and become a portion for jackals.

12 But the king shall rejoice in God; all those who swear by him shall be glad, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

To you we come, radiant Lord, the goal of all our desiring, beyond all earthly beauty; gentle protector, strong deliverer, in the night you are our confidence; from first light be our joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

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.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Judges 6.1-24

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding-places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighbourhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted; so they wasted the land as they came in. Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

When the Israelites cried to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites; and he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of slavery; and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you, and gave you their land; and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.” But you have not given heed to my voice.’

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’ Gideon answered him, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.’ He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.’ Then he said to him, ‘If now I have found favour with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.’ And he said, ‘I will stay until you return.’

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, ‘Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

Canticle

A Song of the Covenant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 44 (page 596), may be said

I have given you as a light to the nations, and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

1 Thus says God, who created the heavens, who fashioned the earth and all that dwells in it;

2 Who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it,

3 ‘I am the Lord and I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

4 ‘I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,

5 ‘To bring out the captives from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

6 ‘I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other.’

Isaiah 42.5-8a

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.

I have given you as a light to the nations, and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Luke 14.1-11

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ And they could not reply to this.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned. I have called you by name; you are mine. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

from Isaiah 43

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God's Glory) (page 635) may be said

Refrain

You promised, O God, to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.

1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free.

2 He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, born of the house of his servant David.

3 Through his holy prophets God promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,

4 To show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant.

5 This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6 Free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

7 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8 To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9 In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10 To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

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.

Refrain

You promised, O God, to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered for the day and its tasks for the world and its needs for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

Local government, community leaders All who provide local services Those who work with young or elderly people Schools, colleges and universities Emergency and rescue organizations

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth: send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.

(or)

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.

The Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia. Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005 Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from Church House Publishing.

The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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