Scripture Readings and Closing Prayers

Welcome to this service of morning prayer. Today the Church gives thanks for Dunstan, 10th century Archbishop of Canterbury and monastic reformer. O Lord open our li ps , I thou thou shalt proclaim your gra ce , send your Holy Spirit upon us and glor us with half from high I knew it for meetings . Will it be from the world ? And crowds with faithful love and martial whose sight is always new with those things so do I saw you like my need les the I judge it for us . He made his ways long to us . I dis quared so much My Lord has his suff icient hell , and his kingdom has all Bless the Lord your angels all Bless the Lord all you need to his win Bless the Lord all who wives of things in all places of please for The father to the song Light to the seat was enough The night has passed, and the day lies open before us . Let us pray with one heart and mind . 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 . Psalm ninety nine The Lord is king , let her peoples tremble . He is enthroned above the chattering . Let me words shake . The Lord is great inside and high above our powerful kings let them praise your name which is great and awesome The Lord our God is hol y Mighty King who loves justice, you have established equity , you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob . Exalt the Lord our God . Bow down before his footstool, for he is following . Boises and heaven among his priests and Sam uel among those who called upon his name . They called upon my Lord and And he answered them . He spoke to them out of a cable cloud . They kept his testimonies and the Lord You answer them old or God . You were a God who forgave them and pardon them for their offences . Exhort the Lord our God and worship him upon his body him . For the Lord our God is glory . Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit As it was in the day is now and shall be for ever The first reading is from the book of numbers beginning at chapter 22 verse 36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come he went out to meet him at Earl Mo ab on the boundary formed by the Arnon, at the furthest point of the boundary . Bal ak said to Balaam, Did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Balaam said to Balak , I have come to you now . But do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say . Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiryath Huzoth . Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent them to Bala am and to the officials who were with him . On the next day Balak took Balaam and brought him to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see part of the people of Israel. Then Balaam said to Balak , Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me. Balak did as Balaam had said, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said to Balak , Stay here beside your burnt offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me, I will tell you . And he went to a bare height . Then God met Balaam, and Balaam said to him, I have arranged the seven altars and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar. The Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said , Return to Balak, and this is what you must say. So he returned to Balak, who was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, Balak has brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains . Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, denounce Israel. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced . For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him . Here is a people living alone, and not reckoning itself among the nations . Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the dust cloud of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but blessed them . He answered , Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth? I mista ke move from my nation . I de ar I mis lead ed more time I do shining from And I will rem ove from your soul and When to give you all to all the Because I mean for a while The spirit of God feels all The second reading is from the Gospel according to Luke, beginning at chapter 8, verse 1 . Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward, chooser, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources . When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable . birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock, and as it grew up it withered for lack of moisture . Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew it produced a hundredfold . As he said this he called out Let anyone with ears to hear listen . Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said , To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak in parables so that, looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand . Now the parable is this The seed is the word of God, the ones on the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so they may not believe and be saved . The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy, but these have no root . They believe only for a while, and in a time of testing fall away . As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature . But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance . Com e hold your spirit to the hearts of your people And king us the fire of your law All who wide by the Spirit of God are children of God and fellow is with Christ . Come Holy Spirit filled our heart of your people , bring you the face of your creation, Lord, pouring on us the gifts of your spirit . And he has the fire of your law for the cre ation waits with eager long ing for the glorious liberty of God Come, Holy Spirit to the heart of your people , and in a I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding . Hallelujah . Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel , who has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour , born of the house of His servant David , through his holy prophets God promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us , to show mercy to our ancestors , and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies , free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight, all the delay And you child shall be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way , to give his people knowledge of salvation . By the forgiveness of all their sins . In the tender compassion of our God , the dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace . 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 will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding . Hallelujah . Let us pray , that this day may be holy, good, and joyful . We pray to you, O Lord , that we may offer to you our worship and our work . We pray to you, O Lord , that we may strive for the well-being of all creation . We pray to you, O Lord , that in the pleasures and pains of life we may know the love of Christ and be thankful . We pray to you, O Lord , that we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in communion with Dunstan and all your saints, entrusting one another and all our life to Christ . We pray to you, O Lord . Let us commend ourselves and all for whom we pray to the mercy and protection of God . Almighty God, who raised up Dunstan to be a true shepherd of the flock, a restorer of monastic life, and a faithful counsellor to those in authority ? Give to all pastors the same gifts of youry Hol Spirit, that they may be true servants of Christ and of all his people . Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever . Amen . Being made one by the power of the Spirit , 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 . May the spirit kind le in us the final card alone . Let us bless the Lord Hallelujah , Hallelujah . Thy seat to God