Scripture Readings and Closing Prayers

Welcome to this service of morning prayer. Today the Church gives thanks for Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury . O Lord, open our lips , and our mouths shall proclaim your praise . 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 Spir it . Blessed be God for ever y 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 1 3irty two Arise, O Lord, into your resting place . Lord remember for David all the hardships he endured , how he swore an oath to the Lord, and vowed a vow to the mighty one of Jacob . I will not come within the shelter of my house, nor climb up into my bed . I will not allow my eyes to sleep, nor let my eyelids slumber, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the mighty one of Jacob. Now we heard of the ark in Ethrapha , and found it in the fields of Jah . Let us enter his dwelling place, and fall low before his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into your resting place , you and the ark of your strength . Let your priests be clothed with righteousness , and your faithful ones sing with joy . For your servant David's sake , turn not away the face of your anointed . The Lord has sworn an oath to David , a promise from which he will not shrink . Of the fruit of your body shall I set upon your throne . If your children keep my covenant and my Their children also shall sit upon your throne for evermore . For the Lord has chosen Zion for himself . He has desired her for his habitation . This shall be my resting place for ever . Here will I dwell, for I have longed for her . I will abundantly bless her provision. Her poor will I satisfy with bread. I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her faithful ones shall rejoice and sing . There will I make a horn to spring up for David . I will keep a lantern burning for my anointed . As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame. But on him shall his crown be bright . Arise, O Lord, into your resting place . Let us pray . Jesus, Son of David , make us a priestly people, clothe us in righteousness, make us fruitful, and give us hearts to shout for joy in your salvation. We pray in the power of the Spirit . Amen . The first reading is from the book of Joshua, beginning at chapter 2, verse 1 . Then Joshua, son of Nun, sent two men secretly from Shitam as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho . So they went and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and spent the night there. The King of Jericho was told, Some Israelites have come here to night to search out the land . Then the King of Jericho sent orders to Rahab , Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land . But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them. She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of the flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords . As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorit es that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og , whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts failed, and there was no courage left in us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below . Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death . The men said to her, Our life for yours . If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land . Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer s ide of the city wall, and she resided within the wall itself . She said to them, Go towards the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers have returned, then afterwards you may go on your way. The men said to her: We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if we invade the land, and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you have let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers and all your family . If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent . But if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you . She said, according to your words, so be it. She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window . They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there for three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men came down again from the hill country. They crossed over, came to Joshua, son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us. Come, let us walk to the mountain of God , to the laws of the colour of Jacob . And thus we may walk in his paws for the Lord shall go out from side , and the world of the Lord from the sun What shall judge these three nations ? I shall be it for many They shall lead their souls into the loud shots and their skins into the ruin Nation shall not lift up soul to insp iration , neither shall we no more any more Glory to the Father , and to the soul , and is with his kids as it was in my giving is God and short before The second reading is from the Gospel according to Luke, beginning at chapter 9, verse 28 . Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pra y. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him . They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem . Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him . Just as they were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three dwellings: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said . While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said , This is my son, my chosen. Listen to him. When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone, and they kept silent, and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your law . Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your la w. Lead me in the path of your commandments, that I may see the wonders of your law. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wonders of your law . I will give you shepherds after my own heart , who will feed you with knowledge and understanding . 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 days of our life. 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 Hol y 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 . 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 Augustine 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, whose servant Augustine was sent as the apostle of the English people , grant that as he labored in the Spirit to preach Christ's gospel in this land , so all who hear the good news may strive to make your truth known in all the world. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever . Amen 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 . The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life. Amen . Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God