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Opening Sentance

O Israel, I will not forget you. … Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, or have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!. . . . Isaiah 49:14-15

Alleluia! Christ is risen indeed.
O come, let us worship. Alleluia!

1-2 Blessed be God, my mountain,
    who trains me to fight fair and well.
He’s the bedrock on which I stand,
    the castle in which I live,
    my rescuing knight,
The high crag where I run for dear life,
    while he lays my enemies low.

3-4 I wonder why you care, God—
    why do you bother with us at all?
All we are is a puff of air;
    we’re like shadows in a campfire.

5-8 Step down out of heaven, God;
    ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains.
Hurl your lightnings in every direction;
    shoot your arrows this way and that.
Reach all the way from sky to sea:
    pull me out of the ocean of hate,
    out of the grip of those barbarians
Who lie through their teeth,
    who shake your hand
    then knife you in the back.

9-10 O God, let me sing a new song to you,
    let me play it on a twelve-string guitar—
A song to the God who saved the king,
    the God who rescued David, his servant.

11 Rescue me from the enemy sword,
    release me from the grip of those barbarians
Who lie through their teeth,
    who shake your hand
    then knife you in the back.

12-14 Make our sons in their prime
    like sturdy oak trees,
Our daughters as shapely and bright
    as fields of wildflowers.
Fill our barns with great harvest,
    fill our fields with huge flocks;
Protect us from invasion and exile—
    eliminate the crime in our streets.

15 How blessed the people who have all this!
How blessed the people who have God for God!

The Armour of God

Almighty God,
grant us your wisdom and favour,
give us the grace to cast off the works of darkness
and put on the full armour of God,
now in the time of this mortal life,
Place on us the belt of truth, because you are the way,
    and the truth and the life,
the breastplate of righteousness,
    because we have no righteousness of our own,
    but you became our righteousness on the cross.
Place on us shoes of the Gospel of peace
    that we miss no opportunity to share your love with others.
Put on us the shield of faith,
    that the fiery darts of the enemy do not harm us in any way.
Put on us the helmet of salvation,
    that our minds be protected and renewed daily in You.
Put on us the sword of the Spirit,
    which is the word of God;
    and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    the Love of God
    and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all for ever more.
Amen.