Morning Prayer on Friday — Friday, 19 June 2026 — Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929 [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 the Venite – A Song of Triumph

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms.

3 For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7 For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

The canticle may end here.

8 O that today you would listen to his voice: ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, on that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 ‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works.

10 ‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, “This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”

11 ‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.”’

Psalm 95

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 51

The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; according to the abundance of your compassion blot out my offences.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my faults and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

5 So that you are justified in your sentence and righteous in your judgement.

6 I have been wicked even from my birth, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

7 Behold, you desire truth deep within me and shall make me understand wisdom in the depths of my heart.

8 Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the bones you have broken may rejoice.

10 Turn your face from my sins and blot out all my misdeeds.

11 Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

12 Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy spirit from me.

13 Give me again the joy of your salvation and sustain me with your gracious spirit;

14 Then shall I teach your ways to the wicked and sinners shall return to you.

15 Deliver me from my guilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.

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

17 For you desire no sacrifice, else I would give it; you take no delight in burnt offerings.

18 The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

19 O be favourable and gracious to Zion; build up the walls of Jerusalem.

20 Then you will accept sacrifices offered in righteousness, the burnt offerings and oblations; then shall they offer up bulls on your altar.

The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit.

Take away, good Lord, the sin that corrupts us; give us the sorrow that heals and the joy that praises and restore by grace your own image within us, that we may take our place among your people; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 54

Behold, God is my helper.

1 Save me, O God, by your name and vindicate me by your power.

2 Hear my prayer, O God; give heed to the words of my mouth.

3 For strangers have risen up against me, and the ruthless seek after my life; they have not set God before them.

4 Behold, God is my helper; it is the Lord who upholds my life.

5 May evil rebound on those who lie in wait for me; destroy them in your faithfulness.

6 An offering of a free heart will I give you and praise your name, O Lord, for it is gracious.

7 For he has delivered me out of all my trouble, and my eye has seen the downfall of my enemies.

Behold, God is my helper.

O living God, reach through the violence of the proud and the despair of the weak to create in Jesus Christ a people free to praise your holy name, now and for ever.

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 6.25-end

That night the Lord said to him, ‘Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred pole that is beside it; and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order; then take the second bull, and offer it as a burnt-offering with the wood of the sacred pole that you shall cut down.’ So Gideon took ten of his servants, and did as the Lord had told him; but because he was too afraid of his family and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it by night.

When the townspeople rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the sacred pole beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. So they said to one another, ‘Who has done this?’ After searching and inquiring, they were told, ‘Gideon son of Joash did it.’ Then the townspeople said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son, so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pole beside it.’ But Joash said to all who were arrayed against him, ‘Will you contend for Baal? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down.’ Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, ‘Let Baal contend against him’, because he pulled down his altar.

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came together, and crossing the Jordan they encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

Then Gideon said to God, ‘In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.’ And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.’ And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Canticle

A Song of Humility, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 33 (page 584), may be said

Raise us up, O God, that we may live in your presence. Alleluia.

1 Come, let us return to the Lord who has torn us and will heal us.

2 God has stricken us and will bind up our wounds.

3 After two days, he will revive us, and on the third day will raise us up, that we may live in his presence.

4 Let us strive to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the sunrise.

5 He will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.

6 ‘O Ephraim, how shall I deal with you? How shall I deal with you, O Judah?

7 ‘Your love for me is like the morning mist, like the dew that goes early away.

8 ‘Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets, and my judgement goes forth as the light.

9 ‘For loyalty is my desire and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. ’

Hosea 6.1-6

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.

Raise us up, O God, that we may live in your presence. 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 14.12-24

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” ’

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

Forsake me not, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God. Forsake me not, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God. Make haste to help me, O Lord of my salvation. Be not far from me, O my God. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Forsake me not, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.

from Psalm 38

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or A Song of Praise (page 627) may be said

Give your people knowledge of salvation, O God, by the forgiveness of all their sins.

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.

Give your people knowledge of salvation, O God, by the forgiveness of all their sins.

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

The King, members of parliament and the armed forces Peace and justice in the world Those who work for reconciliation All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix. Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.