Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
Psalm 74:15,16
Officiant O
God, make speed to save us.
People O
Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving
Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as
we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper
light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy
voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified
through all the worlds.
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all you who
dwell in the world, *
you of high degree and low, rich and poor
together.
My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *
and my heart shall
meditate on understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb *
and set forth my
riddle upon the harp.
Why should I be afraid in evil days, *
when the
wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,
The wickedness of those who put their trust in their
goods, *
and boast of their great riches?
We can never ransom ourselves, *
or deliver to God
the price of our life;
For the ransom of our life is so great, *
that we
should never have enough to pay it,
In order to live for ever and ever, *
and never see
the grave.
For we see that the wise die also;
like the dull and
stupid they perish *
and leave their wealth to those who come
after them.
Their graves shall be their homes for ever,
their
dwelling places from generation to generation, *
though they call
the lands after their own names.
Even though honored, they cannot live for ever; *
they
are like the beasts that perish.
Such is the way of those who foolishly trust in
themselves, *
and the end of those who delight in their own words.
Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;
Death
is their shepherd; *
they go down straightway to the grave.
Their form shall waste away, *
and the land of the
dead shall be their home.
But God will ransom my life; *
he will snatch me from
the grasp of death.
Do not be envious when some become rich, *
or when
the grandeur of their house increases;
For they will carry nothing away at their death, *
nor
will their grandeur follow them.
Though they thought highly of themselves while they
lived, *
and were praised for their success,
They shall join the company of their forebears, *
who
will never see the light again.
Those who are honored, but have no understanding, *
are
like the beasts that perish.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
*
All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
there is none
who does any good.
God looks down from heaven upon us all, *
to see if
there is any who is wise,
if there is one who seeks after God.
Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have turned
bad; *
there is none who does good; no, not one.
Have they no knowledge, those evildoers *
who eat up
my people like bread
and do not call upon God?
See how greatly they tremble,
such trembling as never
was; *
for God has scattered the bones of the enemy;
they are
put to shame, because God has rejected them.
Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come out of
Zion! *
when God restores the fortunes of his people
Jacob
will rejoice and Israel be glad.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the First Letter to the Thessalonians.
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,
though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor
on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
*
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his
Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every
generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has
scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and
has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the
rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for
he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and
his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will
be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our
daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive
those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14