Thursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, 25 Jun 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name, increase in us true godliness, nourish us with all goodness, and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Everyone who conquers will inherit all these blessings,
and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

__________

The Book of Revelation: Chapter 21 (TLB)

21 Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared. And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding.

I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”

And the one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true: It is finished! I am the A and the Z—the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty the springs of the Water of Life—as a gift! Everyone who conquers will inherit all these blessings, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But cowards who turn back from following me, and those who are unfaithful to me, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those conversing with demons, and idol worshipers and all liars—their doom is in the Lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This is the Second Death.”

Then one of the seven angels who had emptied the flasks containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me and I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

In a vision he took me to a towering mountain peak, and from there I watched that wondrous city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of the skies from God. It was filled with the glory of God and flashed and glowed like a precious gem, crystal clear like jasper. Its walls were broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side—north, south, east, and west. The walls had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel held in his hand a golden measuring stick to measure the city and its gates and walls. When he measured it, he found it was a square as wide as it was long; in fact it was in the form of a cube, for its height was exactly the same as its other dimensions—1,500 miles each way. Then he measured the thickness of the walls and found them to be 216 feet across (the angel called out these measurements to me, using standard units).

The city itself was pure, transparent gold like glass! The wall was made of jasper, and was built on twelve layers of foundation stones inlaid with gems: the first layer with jasper; the second with sapphire; the third with chalcedony; the fourth with emerald; the fifth with sardonyx; the sixth layer with sardus; the seventh with chrysolite; the eighth with beryl; the ninth with topaz; the tenth with chrysoprase; the eleventh with jacinth; the twelfth with amethyst.

The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure, transparent gold, like glass.

No temple could be seen in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are worshiped in it everywhere. And the city has no need of sun or moon to light it, for the glory of God and of the Lamb illuminate it. Its light will light the nations of the earth, and the rulers of the world will come and bring their glory to it. Its gates never close; they stay open all day long—and there is no night! And the glory and honor of all the nations shall be brought into it. Nothing evil will be permitted in it—no one immoral or dishonest—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
__________

The Holy City – Jessye Norman

Last night I lay asleeping
There came a dream so fair
I stood in old Jerusalem
Beside the temple there
I heard the children singing
And ever as they sang
Methought the voice of Angels
From Heaven in answer rang

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
Lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna in the highest.
Hosanna to your King!”

And then methought my dream was chang’d
The streets no longer rang
Hushed were the glad Hosannas
The little children sang
The sun grew dark with mystery
The morn was cold and chill
As the shadow of a cross arose
Upon a lonely hill

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
Hark! How the Angels sing,
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna to your King!”

And once again the scene was changed
New earth there seemed to be
I saw the Holy City
Beside the tideless sea
The light of God was on its streets
The gates were open wide
And all who would might enter
And no one was denied
No need of moon or stars by night
Or sun to shine by day
It was the new Jerusalem
That would not pass away

“Jerusalem! Jerusalem
Sing for the night is o’er
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna for evermore!”
__________

Morning Prayer – Psalm 147

 Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing his praises! How delightful, and how right!

+ God is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing back the exiles.

• He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.
• He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
• How great he is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited.
• The Lord supports the humble, but brings the wicked into the dust.

+ Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God, accompanied by harps.

• He covers the heavens with clouds, sends down the showers, and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures.
• He feeds the wild animals, and the young ravens cry to him for food.
• The speed of a horse is nothing to him. How puny in his sight is the strength of a man.
• But his joy is in those who reverence him, those who expect him to be loving and kind.

+ Praise him, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

• For he has fortified your gates against all enemies and blessed your children.
• He sends peace across your nation and fills your barns with plenty of the finest wheat.
• He sends his orders to the world. How swiftly his word flies.
• He sends the snow in all its lovely whiteness, scatters the frost upon the ground, and hurls the hail upon the earth.
• Who can stand before his freezing cold? But then he calls for warmer weather, and the spring winds blow and all the river ice is broken.
• He has made known his laws and ceremonies of worship to Israel — something he has not done with any other nation; they have not known his commands.

+ Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
__________

New Jerusalem – Michael Card

I saw the Holy City,
Descending from the sky
So brilliant with the light of God
The city is His bride
There is no temple in this town
No sun, no moon, no lamp
For God’s own glory is it’s light
Illuminated by the Lamb
And God Himself will wipe the tears
From every weeping eye
No death, no pain, no mourning cry
And every tear made dry

And now our God will dwell with them
The new Jerusalem
And He Himself will walk with them
The new Jerusalem

And so let all of those who thirst
Come now and drink for free
And to the one who overcomes
Come now and you will see
Behold the old has passed away
Now everything is new
The Alpha and Omega’s words
Are trustworthy and so true
And God Himself will wipe the tears
From every weeping eye
No death, no pain, no mourning cry
And every tear made dry

And now our God will dwell with them
The new Jerusalem
And He Himself will walk with them
The new Jerusalem
And now our God will dwell with them
The new Jerusalem
And He Himself will walk with them
The new Jerusalem

And He Himself will walk with them
The new Jerusalem
__________

Closing Revelation 21:3-4 (TLB)

“Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”

__________

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.