Antiphon
Our King and Savior
now draws near: Come, let us adore him.
(The Book of Common Prayer, 1979)
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing
praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of
man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the
earth;
on that very
day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of
Jacob,
whose hope is
in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and
all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food
to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves
the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the
widow and the fatherless,
but the way of
the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O
Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Here is a Lutheran chorale setting of this psalm,
"Praise the Almighty, my soul adore him," which I had never thought of
as an Advent hymn. Now I do!
And here is the music to that chorale text. (I wish I
could find and post the splendid setting by Walter Pelz.)
Isaiah 35:1-10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert
shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice
with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of
Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of
our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm
the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong;
fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with
vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come
and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of
the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue
of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in
the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty
ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall
become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be
called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong
to those who walk on the way;
even if they
are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any
ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed
shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to
Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall
obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away.
Anthem
"Ye shall have a song" from Randal Thompson,
Peaceable Kingdom
James 5:7-10
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the
Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being
patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8
You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you
may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As
an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord.
Matthew 11:2-11
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the
Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you
the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John
what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame
walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and
the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one
who is not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to
the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man
dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings'
houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell
you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will
prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of
women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Hymn
"Comfort, comfort now my people"
hymn page
arranged for choir by David Ashley White
Stir up your power,
O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered
by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and
glory, now and forever. Amen.
(Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent, The Book of
Common Prayer, 1979)
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