In many times and places, daybreak has been a time of prayer. Jews prayed in their synagogues at sunrise as well as at other times each day. This Jewish pattern of prayer formed the basis of the Christian monastic “Daily Office,” with its prayers or “hours” at seven times each day. Anglican and Lutheran revisions of the Daily Office reduced the number of services to two — one for morning (Matins) and one for evening (Evensong or vespers). Eventually, the morning service was given its present name, Morning Prayer.
Many elements of Morning Prayer come from the monastic hours of Matins (e.g., the Venite, or Psalm 95; and the Te Deum, a Latin hymn written in 387 A.D. attributed to St. Ambrose), Lauds (e.g., the Benedicte, omnia opera Domini, or Daniel 3:56-88; a “chapter” of scripture; the Benedictus Dominus Deus, or Luke 1:68-79; and the collect of the day), and Prime (e.g., a second “chapter” of scripture and the Apostles’ Creed). Psalms were recited at every one of the offices, with the whole Psalter recited once a week.
Morning Prayer once was the chief Sunday service in many Anglican and Lutheran churches on three out of four Sundays, the First Sunday usually being a celebration of Holy Communion. For most, this practice has not continued because a service of both Word and Sacrament has been recognized as the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day in most parishes. However, Morning Prayer is clearly designated as a daily service for the worship of the church. This usage reflects the ancient tradition of the Daily Office.
Below, you will find two versions of Morning Prayer, a spoken version and a sung version. The music for the sung version is found in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978). This is a short service that can be used in the home. The L designates a Leader and the C designates the Congregation assembled to worship (which might simply be your family).
Opening Versicles (spoken, opposite- sung)
Stand
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth shall declare your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen
The Alleluia is omitted during Lent.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
Psalmody
Psalm 95
L Give glory to God, our light and our life.
C Oh come let us worship him.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth;
the heights of the hills are also his.
The sea is his for he made it;
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Oh, come, let us bow down and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Give glory to God, our light and our life.
C Oh come let us worship him.
Sit
Opening Versicles (stand) Psalmody Psalm 95
Resources compiled by the Rev. Andrew Ames Fuller, director of communications for the North American Lutheran Church and an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America. Liturgies and music found in the Lutheran Book of Worship, ©1978 Augsburg Publishing House and Lutheran Church in America Publication Board.
