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  Old Testament Canticles
     
   
   
19  The Song of Moses and Miriam
 
     
    Refrain:
     
All
  In your unfailing love, O Lord,
    you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia!
     
1
  I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously,  
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
     
2
  The Lord is my strength and my song  
    and has become my salvation.
     
3
  This is my God whom I will praise,  
    the God of my forebears whom I will exalt.
     
4
  The Lord is a warrior,  
    the Lord is his name.
     
5
  Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power:  
    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
     
6
  At the blast of your nostrils, the sea covered them;  
    they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
     
7
  In your unfailing love, O Lord,  
    you lead the people whom you have redeemed.
     
8
  And by your invincible strength  
    you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
     
9
  You will bring them in and plant them, O Lord,  
    in the sanctuary which your hands have established.                  
   
 Exodus 15.1b-3,6,10,13,17
    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.
     
   
   
20  A Song of Hannah
 
     
    Refrain:
All
  Blessed are those who believe,
    for what God has promised will be fulfilled.
     
1
  My soul exults in the Lord;  
    my strength is exalted in my God.
     
2
  My mouth derides my enemies,  
    because I rejoice in your salvation.
     
3
  There is no Holy One like you, O Lord,  
    nor any Rock like you, our God.
     
4
  For you are a God of knowledge  
    and by you our actions are weighed.
     
5
  The bows of the mighty are broken,  
    but the feeble gird on strength.
     
6
  Those who were full now hire themselves out for bread,  
    but those who were hungry are well fed.
     
7
  The barren woman has borne sevenfold,  
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
     
8
  Both the poor and the rich are of your making;  
    you bring low and you also exalt.
     
9
  You raise up the poor from the dust,  
    and lift the needy from the ash heap.
     
10
  You make them sit with the rulers  
    and inherit a place of honour.
     
11
  For the pillars of the earth are yours  
    and on them you have set the world.
   
1 Samuel 2.1-2,3b-5,7-8
    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.
     
   
   
21  A Song of David
 
     
    Refrain:
All
  Splendour and majesty are yours, O God;
    you are exalted as head over all.
     
1
  Blessed are you, God of Israel, for ever and ever,  
    for yours is the greatness, the power,
       the glory, the splendour and the majesty.
     
2
  Everything in heaven and on earth is yours;  ,
    yours is the kingdom, O Lord
       and you are exalted as head over all.
     
3
  Riches and honour come from you  
    and you rule over all.
     
4
  In your hand are power and might;  
    yours it is to give power and strength to all.
     
5
  And now we give you thanks, our God,  
    and praise your glorious name.
     
6
  For all things come from you,  
    and of your own have we given you.
   
1 Chronicles 29.10b-13,14b
    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.
     
   
   
22  A Song of Solomon
 
     
    Refrain:
All
  Many waters cannot quench love;
    neither can the floods drown it.
     
1
  Set me as a seal upon your heart,  
    as a seal upon your arm;
     
2
  For love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave;  
    its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.
     
3
  Many waters cannot quench love,  
    neither can the floods drown it.
     
4
  If all the wealth of our house were offered for love,  
    it would be utterly scorned.
   
cf Song of Songs 8.6-7
    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.
     
   
   
23  A Song of Peace
 
    Refrain:
All
  Spirit of God, teach us your ways,
    that we may walk in the way of peace.
     
1
  Come, let us go up to the mountain of God,  
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
     
2
  That God may teach us his ways,  
    and that we may walk in his paths.
     
3
  For the law shall go out from Zion,  
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
     
4
  God shall judged between the nations,  
    and shall mediate for many peoples.
     
5
  They shall beat their swords into ploughshares,  
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
     
6
  Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,  
    neither shall they learn war any more.
     
7
  O people of Jacob, come:  l
    et us walk in the light of the Lord.
   
Isaiah 2.3-5
    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.
     
   
   
24  A Song of the Messiah
 
    Refrain:          
All
  To us a child is born,
    to us a son is given.
     
1
  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;  
    those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
                     upon them the light has dawned.
     
2
  You have increased their joy and given them great gladness;  
    they rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest.
     
3
  For you have shattered the yoke that burdened them;  
    the collar that lay heavy on their shoulders.
     
4
  For to us a child is born and to us a son is given,  
    and the government will be upon his shoulder.
     
5
  And his name will be called: Wonderful Counsellor,
                     the Mighty God;  
    the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
     
6
  Of the increase of his government and of peace  
    there will be no end,
     
7
  Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom,  
    to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness.
     
8
  From this time forth and for evermore;  
    the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.                 
   
Isaiah 9.2,3b,4a,6,7
    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.
     
   
   
25  A Song of God's Chosen One
 
    Refrain:
All
  The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.
     
1
  There shall come forth a shoot from the stock of Jesse,  
     
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
     
2
  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,  
    the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
     
3
  The spirit of counsel and might,  
    the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
     
4
  He shall not judge by what his eyes see,  
    or decide by what his ears hear,
     
5
  But with righteousness he shall judge the poor,  
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
     
6
  The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,  
    and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.
     
7
  The calf, the lion and the fatling together,  
    with a little child to lead them.
     
8
  They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,  
    for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
            as the waters cover the sea.
   
Isaiah 11.1-4a,6,9
    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.
     
   
   
26  A Song of Deliverance
 
    Refrain:
All
  All the earth, shout and sing for joy,
    for great in your midst is the Holy One.
     
1
  'Behold, God is my salvation;  
    I will trust and will not be afraid;
     
2
  'For the Lord God is my strength and my song,  
    and has become my salvation.'
     
3
  With joy you will draw water  
    from the wells of salvation.
     
4
  On that day you will say,  
    'Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
     
5
  'Make known his deeds among the nations,  
    proclaim that his name is exalted.
     
6
  'Sing God's praises, who has triumphed gloriously;  
    let this be known in all the world.
     
7
  'Shout and sing for joy, you that dwell in Zion,  
    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.'
   
Isaiah 12.2-6
    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.
     
   
   
27  A Song of the Wilderness
 
     
    Refrain:
All
  Lift up your voice with strength,
    O herald of good tidings.
   
1
  The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice,  
    the desert shall blossom and burst into song.
     
2
  They shall see the glory of the Lord,  
    the majesty of our God.
        
3
  Strengthen the weary hands,  
    and make firm the feeble knees.
     
4
  Say to the anxious, 'Be strong, fear not,
          your God is coming with judgement,  
    coming with judgement to save you.'
     
5
  Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,  
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
     
6
  Then shall the lame leap like a hart,  
    and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.
     
7
  For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,  
    and streams in the desert;
     
8
  The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing,  
    with everlasting joy upon their heads.
     
9
  Joy and gladness shall be theirs,  
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.             
   
Isaiah 35.1,2b-4a,4c-6,10
    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.
     
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