I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.
Psalm 16:7,8
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.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart;
*
before the gods I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise
your Name, *
because of your love and faithfulness;
For you have glorified your Name *
and your word
above all things.
When I called, you answered me; *
you increased my
strength within me.
All the kings of the earth will praise you, O LORD,
*
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
They will sing of the ways of the LORD, *
that great
is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD be high, he cares for the lowly; *
he
perceives the haughty from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
*
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.
The LORD will make good his purpose for me; *
O LORD,
your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your
hands.
LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you
know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts
from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are
acquainted with all my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O
LORD, know it altogether.
You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your
hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so
high that I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go then from your Spirit? *
where can I
flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *
if I make
the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning *
and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand will lead me *
and your right
hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
*
and the light around me turn to night,”
Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright
as the day; *
darkness and light to you are both alike.
For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit
me together in my mother’s womb.
I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your
works are wonderful, and I know it well.
My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being
made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the
womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were
fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.
How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is
the sum of them!
If I were to count them, they would be more in number
than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be
like yours.
[Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God! *
You
that thirst for blood, depart from me.
They speak despitefully against you; *
your enemies
take your Name in vain.
Do I not hate those, O LORD, who hate you? *
and do I
not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with a perfect hatred; *
they have become
my own enemies.
Search me out, O God, and know my heart; *
try me and
know my restless thoughts.
Look well whether there be any wickedness in me *
and
lead me in the way that is everlasting.]
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.
Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.
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.
O God, the source of eternal light: Shed forth your unending day upon us who watch for you, that our lips may praise you, our lives may bless you, and our worship on the morrow give you glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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